The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, and the Nothern Ireland Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy, are meeting political parties at Stormont this morning in advance of key talks due to take place in Kent later this month.
Yesterday at the talks, the DUP leader, Dr Ian Paisley, warned the republican movement there could be no hope of a political deal unless the IRA goes out of business.
Dr Paisley led a DUP delegation in separate talks with Mr Cowen and Mr Murphy. He also said he intends to lead the party's delegation in talks at Leeds Castle in Kent, which are to take place from September 16th to 18th.
The Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, insisted his party is dedicated to securing a deal. He said it would be difficult to achieve a breakthrough without the DUP talking to his party, but that he believed agreement will be possible at the Leeds Castle talks.
The British and Irish governments are working on the agenda for the talks aimed at ending the crisis in the peace process and restoring the devolved political institutions in the North.
