Mitchell confident of North talks progress

Former US senator and Northern Ireland mediator George Mitchell has said he believes the Dublin and London governments will succeed…

Former US senator and Northern Ireland mediator George Mitchell has said he believes
the Dublin and London governments will succeed in reviving the peace deal he helped forge in 1998.

The governments are due to hold talks with northern political leaders in September in an attempt to coax them into a deal on restoring a power-sharing government.

I think they [the two governments] are pushing it at about the right pace - they can't force the parties to do things that they won't do
Former Northern Ireland mediator Mr George Mitchell

"I think they [the two governments] are pushing it at about the right pace - they can't force the parties to do things that they won't do," said Mr Mitchell in an interview with the BBC.

"At the same time they have to make it clear that the current status of uncertainty cannot be permanent, isn't really acceptable to the people, and . . .  ultimately must be resolved. I believe if they keep at it they will find a way."

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Mr Mitchell played a key role in the Northern Ireland peace process in chairing the talks that led to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

He was in Belfast in his role as Chancellor of the city's Queen's University, where he used today's graduation ceremony to urge young people to help arrest a "brain drain" that business leaders say is hampering economic development.