THE DEMOCRATIC Unionist Party and Sinn Féin are due to resume talks at Stormont Castle today after steady progress yesterday in the concentrated attempt to break the policing and justice deadlock.
President Barack Obama’s administration is keeping an interest in the talks, it emerged last night. Yesterday evening Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness spoke by phone with US secretary of state Hillary Clinton about the state of negotiations.
The talks led by DUP leader Peter Robinson and Mr McGuinness broke up after 6pm yesterday, with both sides scheduled to return to Stormont today. If there is no agreement it is unlikely there will be negotiations tomorrow as many DUP politicians insist on observing their Sundays off.
Sinn Féin has stated from the outset of the current talks that there is little time to finalise a deal. However, it appeared last night the party was prepared to see the talks run into the start of next week if the engagement continued to be real and concentrated.
The DUP and Sinn Féin refused to provide any detail of the talks last night, with both sides anxious not to say or do anything that could damage the prospects of agreement. There was a consensus, though, that the two negotiating teams were seriously engaged and that progress was being steadily made.