British, Irish Premiers to Hold Deadlock TalksBritish Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Berti Ahern were to meet on Wednesday night to discuss the way forward in the troubled Northern Ireland peace process.It comes just days after David Trimble resigned as first minister over the lack of Irish Republican Army (IRA) decommissioning, and the publication of a report which confirmed disarmament had not occurred. A British government spokesman said Ahern would join Blair at Downing Street for a "working dinner" as efforts to break the political deadlock intensify. The spokesman said the meeting would "review the state of the process" following Trimble's resignation. Disarmament along with policing and British army demilitarization are the interlocking issues which have caused the political deadlock. The Downing Street spokesman said that there would be an " intensification" of talks over the next fortnight. Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen are expected to hold talks later this week with the parties, against the backdrop of the Protestant marching season. There are now six weeks for the assembly to re-install the Ulster Unionist leader as first minister or replace him before the devolved institutions collapse under legislation which made the Agreement law. If a deal cannot be agreed, the Northern Ireland secretary will either have to call an assembly election or suspend the assembly. The spokesman insisted there were no deadlines for progress to be made, saying: "The problem is not one of time. The problem is of making progress together on the issues." |
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