US President George Bush and British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair have urged the Northern Ireland parties and the community to endorse the blueprint that will be published by the British and Irish governments tomorrow so that devolution can be restored.
President Bush and Mr Blair availed of a joint press conference at Hillsborough Castle yesterday, mainly dedicated to the war in Iraq, to emphasise that this "historic" opportunity to see the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement should not be squandered.
"This is an historic moment in Northern Ireland and I urge all of the people of Northern Ireland to seize this opportunity for peace," President Bush said.
He also said he was comfortable meeting the Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams, notwithstanding Sinn Fein's connection with the IRA which had targeted British soldiers and civilians and Northern Ireland police officers.
"This is not the first time that I have met Mr Adams and the other parties who have committed to the Good Friday agreement," he said. "These are men who have committed to an agreement that the Prime Minister and Taoiseach have worked for a long time to achieve.
"They have signed on to a process that will yield peace. They have agreed to put hatreds in the past. They have agreed to say that history is just that, history, and they look forward to a future in which generations of young Northern Irelanders can grow up in peace.
"That is what they have committed themselves to and as a result I am perfectly comfortable about urging them to see the process through."
Both leaders also said that the Northern peace process had important parallels for resolving the Middle East conflict. Mr Blair opened the press conference by welcoming President Bush to Northern Ireland "at this important period for the peace process".
"It is important that he is here in person to give that process his support, to join with me and the Taoiseach in urging the parties to take the final steps towards lasting peace in Northern Ireland."
He added that "not so many years ago the peace process here was in far worse shape that the process in the Middle East" but that now there were real improvements in security and the standard of living in Northern Ireland.
"We made that progress because of patience and perseverance and because friends in the United States of America helped us get there."
President Bush did not make any specific reference to the IRA but appealed to the Northern parties and the community to accept tomorrow's British-Irish plan to reinstate the Stormont institutions.