Cowen to travel to Stormont for talks with North parties
Foreign Affairs Minister Brian Cowen is due to travel to Stormont today for talks with British government officials and the Northern political parties.
The talks are designed to prepare the ground for make-or-break negotiations at Leeds Castle in Britain later this month.
The prospects for agreement at those negotiations remains unclear.
The DUP is demanding complete IRA decommissioning and an end to paramilitary activity, while Sinn Féin is demanding that unionists commit themselves to the power-sharing institutions. The party also wants the Irish and British governments to implement all outstanding aspects of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
