Mitchell Optimistic on Irish Peace Talks
The Northern Ireland peace process is on track to be a success by its May deadline, former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George J. Mitchell said, despite three days of talks that ended without progress. “These are difficult issues. But it isn’t a function of time to resolve them, it’s a function of will--and increasingly, the will is there,” said Mitchell, chairman of the talks. Negotiators from seven parties--from the major pro-British Protestant party, the Ulster Unionists, to the IRA-allied Sinn Fein--will resume the search for compromise Monday in Belfast, the provincial capital. “I wouldn’t put odds on it, but I really do think a settlement is going to happen,” Mitchell said. But he added, “I’m so devoted and committed to it that maybe I’m not being objective.”
More to Read
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.