The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, has praised the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, for making a good start in his policy towards Northern Ireland.
In an interview with the German newspaper, Die Welt, yesterday, Mr Adams said Mr Blair's policies marked a turning point, but said this was only the beginning. He remarked that notably, British troops were still based in Northern Ireland.
As far as the Sinn Fein leader was concerned, the Northern peace process was still at the stage of preliminary talks.