Ahern arrives for 'crunch' peace talks

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern arrived in Downing Street today for crunch talks with Tony Blair in a bid to break the deadlock threatening the peace process.

The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister were discussing the state of the Good Friday Agreement before meeting with individual political parties from the province.

But Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid has warned people not to expect miracles overnight and stressed today’s talks were just the start of a longer process.

The talks, considered crucial to the political future of Ulster, were expected to concentrate on the key issue of the decommissioning of IRA weapons.

Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble has said he will resign as First Minister if the handover of terrorist arms has not started by July 1.

Other major topics for debate will be nationalist support for reform of the provinces police force and the scaling down of army bases.

Speaking outside Number 10 before going in to join the talks, Dr Reid warned no quick solutions were likely.

He said: ‘‘This is just the beginning of the process of talks.

‘‘This problem has been a long time in the making, decades, and even in some cases centuries. No one expects miracles overnight.’’

Dr Reid said good progress had already been made in resolving the political tensions in the province but that things needed to move on.

He accepted that some sections of Northern Ireland’s politicians liked some aspects of the Good Friday Agreement far more than others.

But he said it was vital for people to ‘‘face up to responsibilities as well as demand our rights’’.

Dr Reid, who will preside over the talks as they continue in Belfast during the week, said there was no option but to implement the Agreement which was the will of the people of Northern Ireland.