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November 15, 1999
Web posted at: 10:12 a.m. EST (1512 GMT)

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (CNN) -- U.S. mediator George Mitchell said Monday he was "increasingly confident" that the two sides in Northern Ireland's decades-old conflict would soon break an impasse in their attempts to bring peace to the troubled region.

"I believe that the parties now understand each other's concerns and requirements far better than before and are committed to resolving the impasse," said Mitchell, a former U.S. senator. "I am increasingly confident that a way will be found to do so."

Mitchell brokered the historic Good Friday agreement in 1998. It calls for an all-party administration in Northern Ireland, under British rule. Mitchell returned to the bargaining table 10 weeks ago to breathe new life into the stagnant peace process, which began with the signing of that agreement.

The talks bogged down over the Protestant Ulster Unionists' refusal to allow pro-republican Sinn Fein to take its two allotted seats in the new Northern Ireland administration until the Irish Republican Army commits to disarm.

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The Protestant Unionists view Sinn Fein as the IRA's political wing; Sinn Fein says it has no control over the IRA's actions.

Talks ended Friday with no agreement, and Mitchell said the parties would come back together on Monday.

On Monday, Mitchell said he had asked a Canadian-led independent commission monitoring disarmament to issue its report promptly, and said the parties would make public their views on the process on Tuesday.

John Hume, leader of the moderate Catholic Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP), backed Mitchell's efforts.

Hume is supportive of Mitchell's efforts

"The SDLP warmly welcome this afternoon's encouraging interim report by Senator George Mitchell. His increasing confidence that we can find a way forward to resolve this impasse is significant," Hume said Monday. "It gives hope that our objective of the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement can soon be realized.

Negotiators for both sides said anonymously that the latest proposal hinged on an IRA commitment to disarm, beginning in January. The Unionists are reportedly agreeing to seat the two Sinn Fein delegates, contingent on the IRA commitment.

IRA leaders would not confirm if they had made such an agreement, and Unionist leaders said they had received no assurances from the militant group. The two sides were reportedly still at odds over whether the Sinn Fein delegates would be expelled if the IRA fails to act.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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