'Important phase' for peace talks

NI Assembly collapsed amid IRA spying allegations

By Martina Purdy BBC NI political correspondent

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern will attempt to push the political process forward in a series of talks with the pro-Agreement parties on Wednesday.

Senior government sources are ruling out dramatic developments during the visit by the two prime ministers.

However, they insist the negotiations are entering an important phase.

"They won't be decisive, but the talks are significant," said one official.

The two premiers will hold an hour-long summit - before meeting the main pro-Agreement parties.

Tony Blair: Seeking acts of completion from republicans

The talks will involve the Ulster Unionists, Sinn Fein and the SDLP as well as the smaller parties including the Alliance Party, Women's Coalition and the Progressive Unionist Party.

With assembly elections looming, the governments have set a deadline of mid-March for a deal.

The stakes are high and involve the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement - in essence the most difficult issues to resolve.

On his last visit to Belfast in October, Mr Blair called for acts of completion and an end to "inch by inch" negotiations.

He challenged the existence of the IRA - insisting it was undermining pro-Agreement unionism and impeding the full implementation of the Agreement.

Sinn Fein has said however that any dramatic moves from republicans will require changes to policing - sufficient to entice the party onto the Policing Board - and acts of demilitarisation.

Other issues still to be tackled, according to Sinn Fein and the SDLP, involve criminal justice, a bill of rights and equality legislation.

Some sources suggest the remaining problems are centred on timing and sequencing - the reluctance of one-side or the other to make "the last moves first."

This has been dismissed by the Sinn Fein leader, Gerry Adams, who claims the problem is a lack of a clear implementation plan from the government.