The Northern Ireland first minister, David Trimble, has reiterated his determination to exclude the IRA's political wing -- Sinn Fein -- from the new power-sharing executive until the IRA begins giving up its weapons.

He told a conference of his Ulster Unionist party that the decommissioning question could not be put off again and called on the British government to honour its undertakings on the issue.

Many Ulster Unionists remain opposed to the peace agreement and the BBC political reporter says Mr Trimble cannot afford to give ground on such a central issue -- even though it's holding up the creation of new cross-border bodies.

The issue was discussed by the British and Irish prime ministers at the European summit in Austria, where they both pledged to work for the implementation of the peace deal in full.