President Clinton says he remains hopeful for the future of the Northern Ireland peace process, despite the current deadlock over the issue of disarmament.

Speaking in Washington, Mr Clinton said all the parties were still committed to finding a way out of the impasse.

He also stressed that the IRA had given no indication that it was planning a return to violence .

The British and Irish prime ministers are meanwhile expected to discuss the situation over the phone today.

But on Wednesday a series of meetings in London ended with no sign of a breakthrough, and a BBC correspondent in Belfast says the talks are probably entering a cooling-off period. Our correspondent says the crux of the problem is still the refusal by the main Unionist party to return to devolved government until the IRA says when and how it will give up its weapons.

But the political wing of the IRA, Sinn Fein says decommisioning can only take place once the devolved government is restored

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service