Stalemate in N. Ireland talks

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

WESTON PARK, England (CNN) -- The prime ministers of Britain and Ireland have suspended talks on the future of the Northern Ireland power-sharing assembly until Friday.

UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, who met the Northern Ireland parties along with Irish premier Bertie Ahern, said that all those at the talks have agreed that the 1998 Good Friday agreement should be the basis for proceeding, but he announced no breakthrough.

The issue that threatens to unravel the assembly is when and where the Irish Republican Army (IRA), as well as several Protestant paramilitary groups, will turn over their arms.

Sources familiar with the discussions at a country house in central England said there had been little progress on that issue.

The Good Friday agreement, negotiated by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, is the basis for the creation of the power-sharing assembly for Northern Ireland.

David Trimble, head of the Ulster Unionist Party, had been serving at first minister of the assembly, but he resigned after a report showed that the IRA had not moved to turn over its weapons, sparking the current round of talks.

"We have given the parties some time to reflect. We will come back on Friday," Blair said. "Though obviously there are substantial areas of disagreement and difficulty...we are going to work with complete determination and some hope that we can find a way through."

Politicians from Northern Ireland's Protestant majority and Roman Catholic minority blamed each other for lack of progress in implementing the peace agreement, Reuters reported.

Gerry Adams, president of Sinn Fein, the republican political party, asked if he expected agreement on disarmament, the reform of the Northern Ireland police service and a reduction in military bases, said: "Well, they haven't been worked out in the last few days. We are dealing with hundreds of years of conflict."

He said there was hope, though it was "soiled and wounded."

Trimble said he could not think of any area in which the republicans had given ground.

He left the talks earlier on Wednesday to attend ceremonies marking the anniversary of the 1690 Battle of the Boyne, in which the Protestant forces of King William of Orange defeated those of the Catholic James II, on July 12.

The anniversary marks the climax of the "marching season" in Northern Ireland, when Protestants hold parades to celebrate victories over Catholics.

There has been renewed sectarian tension in Belfast, with some of the worst rioting for years seen last month.

There was a further blow to the peace process on Wednesday when two hardline Protestant groups withdrew support for current reconciliation efforts.

The Ulster Freedom Fighters said too much ground had been given to republicans, while the The Progressive Unionist Party, which has links to another guerrilla organisation, also vented its frustration.