PRESIDENT CLINTON has said that he wants "to emphasise the strong support of the United States" for the Belfast peace negotiations.
In a statement on the suspension of the talks, the President said: "They offer an unparalleled opportunity for the Northern Ireland political parties and the British and Irish governments to achieve a just and lasting settlement to the conflict that has haunted the people of Northern Ireland for too long.
"Violence can have no place in this democratic process. For the talks to be inclusive, as they are intended to be, the IRA must declare and implement an unequivocal ceasefire."
Paying tribute to "the skilled chairmanship of Senator George Mitchell and his colleagues", the President said that the talks had made "useful progress". It was important, when they resumed in June, that they should "move quickly into substantive negotiations". If the participants were determined to work creatively to make real progress when they returned to Stormont on June 3rd, they would "have my full support for the negotiations and their eventual outcome".
President Clinton will have an opportunity to meet the main participants in the talks later this month at the St Patrick's Day White House reception, to which they have been invited. However, as this will be essentially a social occasion, there will not be much opportunity for serious talking.