Kathmandu: The meeting between Nepal government and the Maoists to finalise the interim constitution ended inconclusively yesterday (Dec 13, 2006), but they agreed to carry on the talks tomorrow.

"The meeting has been extended for Thursday as the top leaders attending the meeting needed more time to discuss key issues before finalizing the Interim Statute," said Nepal Sadbhavana Party general secretary Rajendra Mahato, who was present at the discussions.

The two-and-a-half hour long meeting at the residence of Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, attended by top leaders of the ruling seven-party alliance and Maoist chief Prachanda, discussed key issues of the interim constitution, including the status of the King, Mahato said.

The discussions tomorrow are likely to finalise the draft paving the way for the Maoists to join the cabinet, he added.

After week-long discussions the government and Maoist negotiating teams had almost finalized the interim constitution drafted by experts two months ago.

Copies of it were handed over today to the senior leaders who attended the meeting. They included CPN-UML general secretary Madhav Kumar Nepal and Nepali Congress (Democratic) president Sher Bahadur Deuba.

The promulgation of the interim ponstitution will be followed by formation of an interim parliament and government inclusive of the Maoists with a view to holding the constituent assembly polls.