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July 1, 1999
Web posted at: 11:16 a.m. EDT (1516 GMT)

In this story: Blair, Ahern 'give it another try' Unionists still have doubts RELATED STORIES, SITES

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- The prime ministers of Britain and Ireland say all that remains to be resolved is timing, as the Northern Ireland peace talks resumed Thursday with holdout party leaders trading accusations.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart, Bertie Ahern, said the remaining dispute in the talks centers around which should come first -- the creation of a provincial, Cabinet-style government or the disarming of paramilitaries.

The talks reconvened Thursday after stretching past a midnight Wednesday deadline and going into the pre-dawn hours Thursday. Blair met separately with Catholic and Protestant politicians and said the changes since talks began have been "seismic."

However, Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble said he wasn't ready to trust assurances from Sinn Fein leaders that the Irish Republican Army would disarm next May. Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams in turn accused Unionist leaders of opposing change.

Blair 498K/34 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

The negotiations are aimed at settling disagreements over last year's so-called Good Friday accord, which included the turning over the creation of a joint Northern Ireland government to replace direct rule from London.

Blair said both sides have agreed to "a fully inclusive executive" and agree that the paramilitaries -- particularly the Irish Republican Army -- must agree to decommission their weapons by the May 2000 deadline in the agreement.

Blair, Ahern: 'Give it another try'

Protestant politicians have refused to allow Sinn Fein take its two seats in the 12-member Cabinet that would be set up under the Good Friday pact until the IRA agrees to a timetable for turning over its weapons.

Trimble 312K/24 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

Adams said Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA, had changed its position on decomissioning Wednesday and pledged that the IRA would disarm by next May.

"The entire civilized world will not understand if we cannot put this together and make it work. They simply won't understand it, and rightly," Blair said.

"So we are prepared to come here again and give it another try ... This is the thread by which the future of Northern Ireland hangs."

Ahern added, "There's an awful lot to gain and a frightening amount to lose."

Ahern said two key players in the talks -- the Ulster Unionists, the largest pro-British Protestant party, and Sinn Fein, the political arm of the IRA -- have made great progress during the week of negotiations.

Ahern 498K/33 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

"What is not there is the timing and sequencing," he said.

But Trimble disputed the national leaders' characterization that the disagreement over disarmament had been resolved.

Since Sinn Fein has repeatedly insisted it is separate from the IRA, "Sinn Fein promises are not bankable," he said. "There has to be a commitment from the IRA, from the whole republican movement, in a credible manner."

Adams said the remaining dispute "isn't about guns. This is about those who are against change."

Adams 288K/23 sec. AIFF or WAV sound

He questioned the decision to extend the talks, calling it an indication that the talks have failed already.

"We have moved our position. That has not only been rejected, but it has been misrepresented," he said. "We are going in now to listen to others, to see what they have to do."

Correspondent Richard Blystone contributed to this report.

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