Mowlam: Seeking US pressure on Sinn Fein

Mo Mowlam tells the BBC about her ambitions for the peace process

Mowlam to Visit Washington

In her first trip abroad since the Labour's election victory, Ms Mowlam is holding two days of talks with members of Congress and senior members of the U.S. administration.

"I shall encourage those Americans with Northern Ireland's best interests at heart -- and there are many of them -- to bring their influence to bear on Sinn Fein to respond to the prime minister's initiative, seeking a restoration of an unequivocal ceasefire that would enable Sinn Fein to enter the talks process," she said in a statement.

President Bill Clinton last week welcomed Blair's overtures to Sinn Fein as "a balanced and constructive step towards restoring momentum to the peace process."

Ms Mowlam's visit, during which she is expected to meet Senator Edward Kennedy and National Security Adviser Sandy Berger, comes less than two weeks before the resumption of multi-party peace talks on Northern Ireland, which are chaired by former U.S. senator George Mitchell.

It also follows talks between senior British officials met with Sinn Fein representatives, the first since the IRA abandoned its ceasefire in 1996. The Northern Ireland Secretary, who didn't attend the meeting, said that there had been "movement in the clarification process".

Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness, reported that "very in-depth discussions" had taken place. He added that it was too soon to determine whether the two sides had resolved their differences.

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