British, Northern Irish Prime Ministers to Discuss Peace Plan

British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Berti Ahern will meet in England on Friday to discuss a planned joint initiative aimed at breaking the deadlock in Northern Ireland's peace process, British officials said on Thursday.

"We expect tomorrow's talks to be low key with the emphasis on reviewing where we are," a British official said after the two prime ministers spoke by telephone.

Their anxiously-awaited blueprint has been unexpectedly delayed. The province's rival parties expected it on Friday but a British source said it was unlikely to be published before Sunday.

The two leaders will meet in the Blair's parliamentary constituency of Sedgefield in northeast England on Friday morning, said a spokesman at Blair's Downing Street office in London.

"The meeting will be a chance to review where we are before the prime minister departs for (a visit) to the Caribbean and Latin America on Sunday," the spokesman said.






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