UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged all Iraqi parties to continue working together to achieve consensus around a new permanent constitution within the established time-frame, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday.

In a statement released by the spokesman, Annan said he is encouraged by the agreement between the government of Iraq and the Sunni Conference enabling the return of their Conference representatives to Iraq's constitutional drafting committee.

Annan also commended the decision of the Transitional Government of Iraq to conduct an independent criminal investigation into the recent assassinations of two representatives of the Sunni Conference to the constitutional commission, stressing those responsible should be apprehended and prosecuted.

"The Secretary-General assured them that his Special Representative in Iraq and the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq ( UNAMI) will continue, in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1546, to assist the Transitional Government, the Transitional National Assembly, and the Iraqi people in this important stage of the country's political transition," Dujarric said.

Iraq's Sunni Arab constitution writers agreed to sit at the drafting table again in the run-up to a new charter on Monday after their demands were met. The last-moment comprise came as the Iraqi parliament met conditions put forward by Sunni groups to end their boycott of the constitution drafting process.

Source: Xinhua