‘Peace was not inevitable. We can’t ever forget that,’ US president says, as he marks 25th anniversary of Belfast Agreement
The White House has been holding a press briefing in Belfast and Washington Correspondent Martin Wall was there:
Securing a free trade deal with the UK was a major ambition of Brexiters but leading US politicians ruled out any such agreement if there was any threat to the Good Friday Agreement. “I have no doubt that he perhaps shares certainly my disappointment, Sinn Féin’s disappointment that on this occasion marking 25 years of the peace accord, that the institutions aren’t up and running, that we still don’t have government in Belfast and that the DUP continues its boycott.
The DUP says Mr Biden’s visit – the first to the region by a US president in 10 years – will not pressure it to end its more than year-long protest at the trade rules that treat the North differently to the rest of the UK. Biden is also accompanied on this trip by his sister, Valerie Biden Owens, who is a close political confidante of the president, and by son Hunter Biden, who has been perhaps less of a political asset in the past. Their presence underlies the extent to which exploring his Irish ancestral roots has guided a great deal of the itinerary in the Republic.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Paul Muldoon: Lines on the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday AgreementTo mark the anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, poet Paul Muldoon reflects on the historic accord
Read more »
Twenty-five years on, a conversation with unionists who voted no to the Belfast AgreementAlthough there was a large majority yes vote, almost 275,000 people (29%) voted no. Many of them now feel vindicated, as well as frustrated and marginalised
Read more »
‘The town is mad for it’: Dundalk locals eagerly await President BidenMany residents want to express gratitude for benefits brought by the Belfast Agreement
Read more »
‘The town is mad for it’: Dundalk locals eagerly await Joe BidenMany residents want to express gratitude for benefits brought by the Belfast Agreement
Read more »
US play down security concerns ahead of Biden's arrival in BelfastThe US Government has played down security concerns ahead of President Joe Biden’s arrival in Northern Ireland this evening.
Read more »