The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, has signalled a fresh push in the new year to drive the peace process forward.
The British and Irish governments and the US were doing all they could to facilitate talks between party leaders and maintain the momentum, she said. But the onus was on the party leaders to get together, build confidence and get over the "stumbling blocks" to the decommissioning of terrorist weapons and establishment of the power-sharing executive.