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Unionists issue talks warning

At a meeting with the Prime Minister at Downing Street, Mr Trimble said he expressed his "very, very great concern" that republicans would be allowed back on March 9.

Sinn Fein was excluded from the negotiations for two weeks by the British and Irish Governments after the IRA was linked to two killings in Northern Ireland.

However Mr Trimble said that he considered the planned return date for the republicans was too soon, coming after the loyalist UDP were suspended for a month.

"We consider that would be quite wrong and we are firmly opposed to that," he said.

Mr Trimble said his party would not leave talks if Sinn Fein were readmitted but warned he and colleagues were prepared to take other action.

"We will find a way of making sure they don't dominate or control the process," he said.

"If Sinn Fein return prematurely we will do what we do when we do it, but we are not going to talk about it before."

Mr Trimble's meeting, which lasted for more than 90 minutes, is one of a series of discussions this week aimed at intensifying negotiations as the talks approach their May deadline.

Talks with Irish Premier

Before his meeting with Mr Blair, Mr Trimble had hour-long talks with the Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern.

Following the meeting, Mr Ahern said the parties were looking at 10 areas of work and confirmed the two governments would no longer put forward a single position paper in March.

"We probably have agreement on an awful lot. We have a huge amount of work to do and we need to get on with it," he said.

"At this stage, we should try to carry the parties with us. Clearly they are not in agreement on everything but there are a substantial amount of areas of agreement."

Tense week

This week's talks at Downing Street have taken place against a backdrop of rising tension over the suspension of Sinn Fein.

The republicans have been pushing for a meeting with Tony Blair ahead of their return to the peace talks at Stormont.

But loyalist parties have warned Mr Blair against applying "double standards" which could have a serious effect on the whole negotiations.

Both Mr Blair and Mr Ahern want to push the talks process to a conclusion around Easter so that referendums can be held in Northern Ireland and the Republic in May.

Mr Trimble confirmed that he expected to see a renewed effort to make progress.

"Whether we achieve progress is not in our gift. It depends on other parties," he said.

"We are getting very close to the wire."

Relevant Stories

Blair, Ahern talks continue (27 Feb 98 | UK)
Loyalists warn Blair not to meet Sinn Fein (26 Feb 98 | UK)
Downing Street still undecided over Sinn Fein meeting (25 Feb 98 | UK)
Talks resumed without Sinn Fein (23 Feb 98 | UK)
Bomb 'designed to end talks' (23 Feb 98 | UK)
Blair considers Sinn Fein meeting (23 Feb 98 | UK)
Sinn Fein suspended from peace talks (20 Feb 98 | UK)

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