Ireland urges NI parties to continue talks

Despite no agreement reached, Irish Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore on Tuesday urged the major political parties in Northern Ireland to continue their talks. "Dialogue is the only way to resolve difficult issues and must guide the way forward," said Gilmore, also Ireland's minister for foreign affairs and trade. "The parties must continue the important work which they have now set in train," he stressed in a statement. He recognized that "significant progress has been made over a short period on the most difficult and contentious issues that face society in Northern Ireland." "The progress that has been made must now be safeguarded and built upon," he said. But he was disappointed that agreement was not reached by all the parties on Tuesday morning in Belfast. "I know that many people will be disappointed when this news reaches them," he said. "This is not a step back but rather a step not yet taken. That step forward will have to be taken because it is right and necessary and because people across society are demanding it," he noted. On Tuesday morning, Northern Ireland's five political parties failed to reach agreement after marathon overnight talks in Belfast chaired by former U.S. diplomat Richard Haass. The talks was aimed at overcoming longterm differences of disputed parades, the flying of flags and dealing with the past. No date has been set to resume the talks that were started five months ago after some of the worst violence in Northern Ireland since the power-sharing agreement was signed in 1998.