THE Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, and the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, met at Stormont for half an hour yesterday in an encounter which a senior Government source would only say went "well enough".
The British and Irish ministers and the other participants in the multi party talks were meeting against the backdrop of the rift in Anglo Irish relations and the turmoil which has gripped the North since the Drumcree stand off.
After their talks, Sir Patrick and Mr Spring held a series of bilateral meetings with other parties. It is understood that Mr Spring did not meet the main unionist parties yesterday.
Afterwards, Mr Spring did not underestimate the differences between the two sides, but said that these divisions would be tackled at tomorrow's Anglo Irish Conference meeting in London.
The purpose of yesterday's bilateral meetings at Stormont, said Mr Spring, was to bring urgency and momentum back into the talks process. "What is necessary now is that the primacy of politics is re-established and that we do everything to ensure that there isn't further violence on the streets."
The Irish Government's aim was to start serious negotiations and to move from the current discussions over procedures to the beginning of the talks proper.
Sir Patrick said that, notwithstanding the "wretched events" of the past 10 days, the talks process was the only alternative to violence and the only way to make political progress. He said that yesterday's talks had been "well spent".
The Northern Secretary conceded that the violence which had erupted had "gravely damaged" the peace process, but said that it was not terminally damaged. The divisions between the two governments were being left to tomorrow's Anglo Irish Conference meeting.
In a statement the chairman of the talks, Senator George Mitchell, and his two colleagues, Gen John de Chastelain and Mr Harri Holkeri, strongly and unequivocally condemned the recent violence.
They added. "We recognise the extreme difficulties of the talks now under way, especially in the current climate. But we are convinced that progress is possible. In any event, the talks represent the only acceptable alternative.
"An end to the talks could condemn the people of Northern Ireland to a renewal of widespread sectarian violence.
The three chairmen said that there was a clear consensus among the participants yesterday to continue the talks with a sense of urgency and increased determination".
Meanwhile, the SDLP is holding firm to its decision to resign from the Northern Ireland Forum. The SDLP rejected the assertion by the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, that this decision effectively barred them from multi party talks.
The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, who with senior colleagues is to meet the British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, in London today, said that what was vital now was to move from the procedural issues of "full stops and commas" to substantive talks.
All the parties, and the two governments in particular, had to be serious about the negotiations.
The Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, said that the political process could be moved forward by the leaders of the four main parties the UUP, DUP, SDLP and Alliance meeting Mr Major in Downing Street.
Dr Paisley criticised the Tanaiste for calling the meeting of the Anglo Irish Conference. "It was an Anglo Irish Conference meeting that brought to the death the previous talks, and now they are using it to bring to the death these talks," he said.
"If the Anglo Irish Agreement is not buried, then Ulster will be buried," he added. The AngloIrish Conference meeting was an attempt to "circumvent" the multi party talks.
The DUP leader claimed that the Dublin Government and possibly the SDLP were not interested in the multi party talks because they knew they would "get nothing" from these talks because of unionist opposition to constitutional change.
Mr Robert McCartney, the leader of the UK Unionist Party, suggested that there be a moratorium to the talks until September in order to allow the current volatile passions to cool.