British and Irish Prime Ministers met with Northern Ireland's political parties in Belfast on Thursday to restate the deadline for a deal on devolution.

In a fresh bid to end the political deadlock in Northern Ireland, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern exhorted the main parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein, to agree to power-sharing by November 24.

"We are convinced that November is the outer limit of an acceptable timeframe," Blair and Ahern said in a joint statement. "Failure to meet that deadline would be a failure which will put the assembly in cold storage from November 24."

The two leaders reinforced their insistence that they would end the assembly members' pay and allowances if there is no deal.

"This is the last chance for this generation to make this process work," said Blair.

Ahern said "The reality of this is that if we don't do by November 24 then we lose a huge opportunity." He wanted to see the institutions up and running as soon as possible, he added.

DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson said "We can not move on to the next stage unless we move in the sequence of scoping the issues, debating the issues and then negotiating the issues."

Sinn Fenn president Gerry Adams said he hoped the process could move on. "We now want them (the two governments) to match that verbal commitment with action in the time ahead." he said.

While there are still almost five months to November 24, senior London, Dublin, DUP and Sinn Fein sources privately acknowledge that there is no indication whatever that DUP would agree to go into government with Sinn Fein by then.

Earlier this year, British and Irish governments introduced emergency legislation to enable the assembly to be recalled on May 15 and imposed an "immovable deadline" of November 24 for forming a power-sharing executive.

Northern Ireland's politicians took their seats in the Stormont Assembly on May 15 for the first time since its suspension in October 2002. Direct rule from London was restored in October 2002 and has been in place since.

(Xinhua News Agency June 30, 2006)