The new Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met the DUP leader Arlene Foster who said the "clock was ticking" for a deal.
Mrs Foster said any new talks for a devolved government had to be "short, meaningful and substantive" and warned Karen Bradley if a deal is not done, then "some sort of an administration direct from Westminster" would be put in place.
After meeting Mrs Bradley at Stormont House, Mrs Foster said: "We want devolution, but we can't continue without a government here in Northern Ireland. So time is short and the clock is ticking."
Foster tells new NI Secretary the clock is ticking for a Stormont deal | More: https://t.co/sd0z57aHDH pic.twitter.com/VWGDe14ZKn
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It was Mrs Bradley's first working day in Northern Ireland since her appointment following the resignation of James Brokenshire on Monday.
She was due to meet with Sinn Féin Stormont leader Michelle O'Neill, but the meeting was put back to next week after a phone call between the two politicians.
Mrs Bradley will meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney in London on Friday.
Mr Coveney is currently on a visit to the Middle East and will stop over in London on his way back to Ireland.
The talks are expected to centre on proposals to consider a fresh attempt at talks to restore power-sharing at Stormont after it collapsed last year.
Mrs Bradley met students at Belfast's Metropolitan College in the city's regenerated docklands area on her first official engagement in the region.
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"I want to find a way through this because the absolute priority is to restore devolved government as soon as possible," she said.
Asked if she intended to adopt a new approach to the faltering negotiation process, Mrs Bradley stressed she was still in learning mode.
She said: "I am here to learn, I am here to find out, I am here to meet all the leaders, I'm here to look at what needs to be done.
"I know there are challenges but I am determined we will find a way through those challenges.
"We need to deliver devolved government to Northern Ireland as soon as possible and that's what I am determined to do."
