British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on November 12 that a peace agreement in Northern Ireland was " within our grasp" and urged negotiators in the province not to give up.

"We have never come this far before. We've never been this close to a lasting settlement in Northern Ireland. It is there within our grasp," Blair said at the Commonwealth summit in Durban, South Africa, the BBC reported.

"For the sake of some more talking and some more thinking, and more dialogue between people, we shouldn't let that prize for the future slip out of our grasp," he added.

Feuding political parties in Northern Ireland returned to critical talks Friday after reports that the powerful pro-British Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) had turned down a compromise formula Thursday.

The discussions are being led by U.S. mediator George Mitchell, who is seeking to break a deadlock over Irish Republican Army disarmament and a new power-sharing government in the province.

The peace talks on Northern Ireland's political deadlock were adjourned until next week, Mitchell announced Friday, adding they had reached "the final and most critical phase."

"I have asked the parties to pause over the weekend and reflect on the magnitude of the decisions they have to mak