WASHINGTON, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The United States said on Monday it was not surprised when Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has yet to announce who will be his ministers of defense and interior.

    "These obviously are going to be the most contentious and most important appointments he makes, and it's going to take time. So we're not surprised by it," White House spokesman Tony Snow said at a news briefing.

    "This is a parliamentary system with a nation that's never had democracy before, and Prime Minister Maliki knows that he is going to have to get consensus, especially on these two portfolios. Let's face it, they're the most important to have," Snow said.

    Amid fierce political haggling among Iraq's Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, Maliki was forced to leave the portfolios of defense, interior and national security temporarily unfilled on May 20 when he announced his new cabinet.

    The three ministries are currently headed by the prime minister himself and his two deputies.

    An Iraqi parliament session was postponed earlier Sunday after Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki again failed to reach consensus on candidates to head ministries that run Iraq's military and police. Enditem