Prime Minister-designate Nouri al-Maliki said on Tuesday the main stumbling blocks to forming a new Cabinet have been overcome and he expects to present his team to the Parliament for approval by the end of the week.Al-Maliki said representatives of the parties had agreed on what factions would hold the ‘‘main posts’’ but they were still discussing the distribution of ‘‘a few’’ of them. They include the Ministries of Oil, Trade and Transportation, he said.The incoming prime minister declined to spell out the distribution of ministries, including key posts of Interior, which controls Police, and defence, which runs the Army. US and British officials have insisted those posts go to people without ties to sectarian militias, believed responsible for many of the tit-for-tat killings of Sunnis and Shi’ites.‘‘The direction we took, and which was agreed upon by the political groups, was that the two who will occupy these posts be independent and unaffiliated with a party or a militia,’’ Maliki said.Al-Maliki, a Shi’ite, said he ‘‘hoped and expected’’ to present the Cabinet to the Parliament by the end of the week. Parliament must approve each minister by a majority vote.
