Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has welcomed the fact that Stormont talks have finally met in full session, involving all the participants in one room sitting at the one table – although he expressed some perplexity that unionists were exercised over how these negotiations should be portrayed.
Mr Flanagan described as a "plenary" the talks at parliament buildings, Stormont, yesterday, which he attended in the company of the Northern Secretary Theresa Villiers and representatives from the five main parties – the DUP, Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Ulster Unionist Party and Alliance.
Four weeks after the talks began, this was the first time that all the participants were around the same table. First Minister Peter Robinson previously had refused to attend a full plenary.
However, according to well- placed sources, some 15 minutes of the talks (which lasted just over an hour) were dedicated to figuring out whether they were “plenary”, “roundtable”, “stocktaking” or, as the DUP favoured, a “four-week review” meeting.
Unionist concerns
This appeared to relate to concerns by the DUP and the UUP that they not leave themselves open to allegations they were talking to the
Irish Government
about issues other than North-South matters.
Regardless, anti-Belfast Agreement Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister accused the two parties of a "remarkable climbdown".
"Dublin should mind its own business and no self-respecting unionist will be present in any meeting to discuss internal Northern Ireland business where a seat at the table is given to the Irish representatives," he said.
While Mr Flanagan has exercised his right to attend the talks on behalf of the Government, he has been careful in the general negotiations to restrict his discussions with unionist parties to North-South affairs and not to stray into internal Northern Ireland issues.
Nonetheless, he expressed very carefully modulated frustration at such pedantic semantics. Mr Flanagan also insisted to The Irish Times yesterday evening that progress was being made.
