En route from Shanghai to Guilin in Air Force One yesterday morning, President Clinton telephoned the North's First Minister and the SDLP leader, urging them to work together to defuse the situation over the Portadown Orange parade on Sunday.
The President congratulated Mr David Trimble and Mr John Hume on the formation of the new Assembly, a senior US administration official said yesterday. Mr Clinton also expressed concern that possible marching this weekend in Northern Ireland could lead to violent incidents, the official said, in an apparent reference to the planned Orange Order parade in Portadown.
The calls were put through to Northern Ireland after Mr Clinton had been briefed on developments there, which he requested despite his preoccupation with the China tour.
"The President wanted to talk to the two leaders about how they might work together" to avoid any kind of violence, the official said. "The President urged both of them to try and work together to defuse the situation."