The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, have issued a joint declaration setting a September deadline for resolving the Northern Ireland peace process.
In a statement, Mr Blair said the point of decision had come to see if the problems that led to the suspension of the Stormont Assembly could be resolved.
Mr Blair said they had set aside several days for intensive negotiations with the parties, but if that failed, the search would start for an alternative.
And he signalled that the situation could mean the dissolution of Stormont.
Mr Blair said the four key issues - ending paramilitary activity,
decommissioning, the institutions and policing - were well known. He said there was a real recognition among the parties as well as the two Governments that it is time to come to the point of decision.
Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said failure to resolve the issues in September would leave a huge question of credibility about the process. He voiced disappointment at the failure to resolve the issues today.
Sinn Féin's Mitchel McLaughlin said today's meetings represented a missed opportunity. He said the governments were wrong to accept the unionist's time frame of September.
