Agreement talks 'peter out' into 'shared understanding'

Talks aimed at refloating the devolved government have begun again this morning, although no deal is expected to be arrived at by the end of today's session.

Yesterday Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern hosted talks at Hillsborough Castle attended by pro-agreement parties, but according to UUP leader David Trimble the talks will "peter out" today.

It is known that a 26-page document has been circulated to the main players covering a broad range of outstanding issues such as on-the-runs, demilitarisation, decommissioning, normalisation and human rights.

Whilst the document, which contains the blueprint for a deal, will not be published the parties will be given time to digest its contents. Rather than agreement, it is hoped that a "shared understanding" will be arrived at.

Mr Trimble said that no deal would be possible "unless we have a clear statement from the IRA about their structure and their future".

However, he added: "A certain amount of progress perhaps has been made but there is still a lot of work to be done."

There also needed to be, he said, decommissioning and an effective system of oversight with sanctions to ensure that the institutions are maintained.

The former first minister said that consultations and discussions will continue over the coming weeks - adding that the UUP was "ready" for the May elections.

Eileen Bell of the Alliance Party voiced her hopes that there would be "some sort of agreement".

A "political disciplinary body" has been mooted by Alliance and Sinn Fein to administer sanctions to parties which fail their commitments. However that proposal is unlikely to be enough to satisfy the unionists.

This morning, the Prime Ministers Official Spokesperson said that there had been "genuine engagement" from all the parties but that it was too early to predict the outcome with any degree of certainty.

"There was still a lot of detail to get through, as you would expect", he said.

Though not participating in the current talks, DUP Leader Ian Paisley sharply criticised the negotiations and accused Prime Minister Tony Blair of being "completely inconsistent in his dealings with terrorism".

He said: "Tony Blair is embarking on a mission to remove democracy and concede to Irish republican terror in Belfast yet tomorrow he will beat his chest and stand up to terrorism in Baghdad.

"Instead of delivering acts of completion Northern Ireland will witness the Prime Minister and his willing accomplice David Trimble making a complete surrender to the IRA."

(GMcG)