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Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid
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Secretary of State Dr John Reid tonight held unprecedented talks with Northern Ireland's most notorious loyalist paramilitary leader in a bid to halt sectarian street violence.
Dr Reid urged Ulster Defence Association chief Johnny Adair and other loyalist bosses to call off the mobs involved in rioting which has engulfed Belfast.
Spelling out his message to them, Dr Reid said: "If you want to work for a constructive, political resolution to our problems and a better Northern Ireland I will work with you.
"If you are wedded to violent ways and you are stuck to a path of violence I will oppose you by every means at my disposal."
The two-and-a-half hours of negotiations with members of the Loyalist Commission, an umbrella group consisting of paramilitaries, unionist politicians and church leaders, came as tensions across Northern Ireland remain dangerously high.
Fierce bouts of sectarian violence in flashpoint areas have put the peace process under increasing strain.
The Taoiseach Mr Ahern and British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair are due to hold talks with all the pro-Good Friday Agreement parties at Hillsborough, Co Down, on Thursday in a bid to avert a full-blown crisis.
And Dr Reid's meeting with Adair and other paramilitary leaders was also seen as a major move towards restoring calm.
Afterwards, the Northern Ireland Secretary refused to discuss Adair's contribution, but admitted it was his first chance to hear the views of paramilitaries on the commission.
Although he stressed no agreement was reached, Dr Reid said: "They have a major contribution to make to the reduction of violence in Belfast."
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Johnny Adair
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It also emerged tonight that pro-Belfast Agreement parties had a meeting at Stormont ahead of this week's talk involving Mr Blair and Mr Ahern.
It is understood a multi-lateral meeting involving parties who took part in last week's Belfast Agreement implementation group talks took place to build on the progress made.
A Stormont source said: "There have been meetings between the parties and a multi-lateral which has been organised by SDLP leader Mark Durkan."
"They have been dealing with issues arising out of the meeting of the implementation group last week. The agenda has focused on ensuring that the implementation group's work gets underway and they have focused on the full implementation of the agreement," he added.
PA