There must be political progress in the North before Christmas, the Northern Secretary has said. She admitted the peace process was moving slowly but insisted it was "not deadlocked".
"Momentum is still there - slow, I agree, but people are still talking," Dr Mo Mowlam said.
She congratulated the Ulster Unionist and SDLP leaders on their Nobel Peace Prize awards. "They represent the people of Northern Ireland in terms of the determination and courage that people have shown over the past year." Dr Mowlam, who was speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, rejected criticisms from UUP MP Mr Ken Maginnis that neither she nor the British government were tough enough on paramilitary organisations. "The Prime Minister visited last week and he's doing everything in his power to try and move the process forward. All we're doing is implementing the agreement. It's going slower than anybody would like, but we've come a long way down the road towards peace.
"There is a determination not just by the leaders of all the parties, but the people, to make sure we don't go backwards. I believe we will get there."
She insisted that decommissioning was an essential part of the agreement. Asked about reports that the IRA could soon decommission some of its Semtex, she said: "The rumours have been there too long. I'll wait for the evidence."
She warned against continued stalemate at the talks. "The longer we leave it, the harder it is going to be to sell things on either side, because the further you go down, and the weeks and months that you leave it, people get further entrenched in their positions. "Also, they say more in the media and therefore it is harder for them to find an accommodation. That's why it's crucial we find movement before Christmas."
Mr Maginnis blamed Dr Mow lam and other British ministers for the failure to make progress.
"The difficulty is not within the agreement itself but within the manner in which the Northern Ireland Office in particular and government in general, is trying to implement the agreement.
"Their attention is not with the sensitivities of people who adhere to the democratic process or with those who are law-abiding members of society in Northern Ireland within both traditions, but rather centred on the terrorists, on the IRA, on the LVF, on the UDA and the UVF.
"They are particularly sensitive to those people and giving far too much latitude. The expectation that those paramilitary-linked parties should fulfil their obligations are not being pressed by the Secretary of State and others."
At Stormont, the SDLP and the Ulster Unionists clashed over UUP proposals for a cross-Border body on animal health and welfare standards. Mr James Leslie, the UUP's agriculture spokesman, said: "Animal health and welfare standards in Northern Ireland are far better than those in the Republic.
"In order to put our farmers onto a level playing field, it is essential that the same standards are enforced in the South. This is precisely the sort of useful purpose to which a cross-Border body should be put.
"It is pathetic the SDLP are putting political games ahead of the interests of the hard-pressed farmers they represent. They should be joining us in insisting this body be set up."
Mr Leslie accused the SDLP of "kow-towing to the Dublin Government who, of course, do not want their farmers to be put to any extra expense or inconvenience". Mr Denis Haughey denied the allegations and said the animal health body proposed by the UUP was too limited. The SDLP wanted a substantial agricultural cross-Border body dealing with a whole range of issues.