US national security advisor meets with leaders of Northern Ireland parties

By Rabia İclal Turan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan held separate meetings Thursday with the leaders of Northern Ireland's Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein party, during which they discussed economic and other issues, the White House said.

In his meetings with DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, Sinn Fein Party leader Mary Lou McDonald and Sinn Fein Vice-President Michelle O’Neill, Sullivan praised the peace and progress achieved in Northern Ireland following the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, “underscoring the unwavering commitment of the United States to preserving and strengthening its dividends,” according to a White House readout of the meeting.

He also condemned last month’s attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector John Caldwell in the town of Omagh, Northern Ireland, “welcoming the cross-party denunciation of this violence and commitment to a peaceful future.”

Sullivan and the party leaders also discussed the "importance of investing in Northern Ireland’s vast economic potential and ensuring prosperity for all communities" and expressed their readiness to work with US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs Joe Kennedy III, said the White House.

The meeting comes as British lawmakers will vote next week on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's new post-Brexit deal with the European Union to reform trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.