Clinton holds Northern Ireland talks
Mon Oct 12 2009 15:28:57
US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is holding talks with Northern Ireland's political leaders in Belfast as they broker an historic deal on sharing responsibility for the region's justice system.
Republicans and unionists have yet to finalise an agreement on devolving policing and justice powers from Westminster to the Stormont Assembly, but lengthy talks with Prime Minister Gordon Brown last week carved out a financial blueprint for the move.
Mrs Clinton is meeting First Minister Peter Robinson and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness. The American delegation is discussing its continued political and economic support for the Irish peace process.
It is the US Secretary's seventh visit to Northern Ireland. She first arrived as First Lady with her husband, President Bill Clinton, to famously boost the fledgling search for peace in the 1990s.
As she arrived in Belfast on Sunday night, she threw her weight behind the efforts of the British and Irish governments to secure the devolution of policing and justice powers to Stormont.
"The step of devolution for policing and justice is an absolutely essential milestone," Mrs Clinton said.
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US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says "no one said it would be easy" during a speech about the peace process in Northern Ireland.
