N. Irish talks set to continue

Blair and Ahern are fighting to avoid the collapse of the Northern Ireland Assembly

LONDON, England -- Talks on the future of Northern Ireland's power-sharing government seem likely to be extended into a third day, officials said.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern met Northern Ireland's political parties at Weston Park, a country house in Staffordshire, central England, on Monday and Tuesday but made no progress.

The leaders had originally intended the talks to last only two days. "It is beginning to look likely that the talks will go into tomorrow," said a spokesman for Blair.

Meanwhile, efforts to keep alive the peace process also seemed to be unravelling with the withdrawal of rival pro-British parties from various initiatives.

AUDIO CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney: Pressure is on political leaders 1870K / 178 sec. AIFF or WAV sound   AUDIO CNN's Sheila MacVicar: The clock is ticking 382 K / 35 secs AIFF or WAV sound   MORE STORIES Q&A: Tension at Drumcree

The talks are seen as a last-ditch attempt to keep alive the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, intended to draw a line under three decades of conflict in Northern Ireland.

The main obstacles to a lasting peace have been the absence of paramilitary disarmament, the future shape of the province's police force and Britain's continuing military presence.

The Ulster Freedom Fighters, one of Northern Ireland's most ruthless paramilitary groups, angered by what they see as too many concessions being granted to the pro-Irish, Catholic republican side, said it could no longer support the Good Friday accord but would maintain its cease-fire.

"We can no longer remain silent in our criticism of an agreement to which our membership have continuously voiced their opposition," the group said in statement released in Belfast.

The UFF said it was intolerable that Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army, had "gained concession after concession yet there is still a growing erosion of our culture and heritage. We cannot allow this to go any further."

Although the UFF is officially maintaining a ceasefire, its republican enemies have blamed it for a series of attacks on Catholics.

David Ervine, who leads the Progressive Unionist Party, which has links to another paramilitary organisation, said his party was pulling out of the talks which he said were going nowhere. "The PUP is now out of that loop," he told a news conference.

Ervine's party has links to the Ulster Volunteer Force, a paramilitary group that observes the cease-fire but refuses to hand in its guns while the IRA maintains its own arsenal.

Ervine stressed that his party remained committed to dialogue and opposed to violence. "We are not suggesting remotely that violence is an option. Violence is not an option."

In a statement on Tuesday the PUP added it would be meeting with its wider membership in the coming weeks for further consultation.

CNN's Fionnuala Sweeney said the move was "significant."

"The UVF is one of the more known loyalist paramilitary groups. It puts pressure on political leaders to move on the de-commissioning issue."

She added, the feeling existed among loyalists that its community had "given everything" to the nationalist Catholic community without any guarantees for its own security in return.

Delegates at Weston Park said the talks had produced many bitter exchanges and a deal looked unlikely.

Sinn Fein's leader Gerry Adams accused Blair of ignoring the letter of the Good Friday peace agreement and warned that his party was in no position to offer a commitment on IRA disarmament -- something all other delegations are demanding.

David Trimble, who leads the Protestant Ulster Unionist Party and who has said that the talks represent " a moment of truth" for the peace process, blamed Sinn Fein for the impasse.

His resignation from the Northern Ireland's administration triggered this month's political crisis. If his post of first minister is not filled by August 11, Britain will either have to suspend the administration's powers, or dissolve Northern Ireland's legislature and call a new election.

The British Northern Ireland Office confirmed that former United States' President Bill Clinton, who during his time in office was an influential player in the peace process, had met the British and Irish leaders.