A fresh attempt is to be made to break the political deadlock in the North. The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, and the British prime minister, Tony Blair, will tomorrow begin a new round of talks in London with the main pro-Agreement Northern parties.
The two men will be at Downing Street for a series of meetings with the Ulster Unionists, Sinn Féin and the SDLP in an attempt to break the deadlock over full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement.
The talks mark the beginning of a renewed attempt to break the deadlock over decommissioning, policing and scaling down the British Army's presence in the North. Efforts by both governments had been put on hold during the British general election.
A deadline has been set by Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble's threat to resign as First Minister on 1 July unless there has been a start to IRA decommissioning by then. Mr Ahern and Mr Blair will have private discussions followed by separate talks with the Ulster Unionist, SDLP and Sinn Féin delegations.
Irish Government sources say that the Taoiseach will be listening to what the parties have to say but that more detailed talks will not get underway until next week in Belfast. That will be after the Ulster Unionist Council meeting next weekend when it is now thought that any immediate challenge to Mr Trimble's leadership of the party is less likely.
