Ahern, Blair begin Hillsborough talks

The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister are chairing talks between the pro-Agreement parties at Hillsborough this afternoon.

Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair first met the head of the International Decommissioning Body, General John de Chastelain, this afternoon.

They then had talks with Sinn Fein, and are due to meet the SDLP, the Ulster Unionists and the other smaller pro-Agreement parties.

The parties will have a plenary session at 6pm, before a possible joint conference between Mr Ahern and Mr Blair at around 7pm.

Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said after his meeting that he was still hopeful that the difficulties could be resolved before David Trimble's July 1 deadline, although he said the process is going too slowly for nationalists and too quickly for unionists.