BERTIE LEADS U.S. SUMMIT ON PEACE; New efforts in bid to break arms deadlock.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern is joining Northern Ireland's politicians in the United States for talks on the peace impasse.

Efforts to move the process forward will be made during St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Mr Ahern will play a leading role with Britain's Northern Secretary Peter Mandelson during a series of meetings in Washington.

Last night Mr Mandelson said he believed real business could be done in the US. He stressed the trip would be more than just a party.He said: "I'm going there to have very serious discussions with all the people, representatives of all the parties, who will be present there.

"There had better be some serious discussions to make the visit and the meetings which are going to take place, properly worthwhile."

Ahead of the transatlantic exodus Mr Mandelson made a renewed call for paramilitary decommissioning.

He said: "There can be no long-term stable future with stockpiles of illegal arms, where paramilitary organisations are able to second-guess a politician if and when they please."

There had to be a confidence among the electorate that the province was moving forward to a "durable and unbreakable peace".

Mr Mandelson said people needed to know that political institutions being established were permanent and that "nobody has a secret plan in their inside pocket - or a gun in their belt - that they can pull out at some later stage down the road."

The SDLP met separately with the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein for discussions before setting off to Washington. Mandelson also met Cedric Wilson, leader of the Northern Ireland Unionist Party, who claimed Mr Mandelson had disclosed his intention to reinstate the suspended power-sharing executive without any prior IRA decommissioning.

He said the plan was to wait for David Trimble to see off a leadership challenge at the Ulster Unionist Party ruling executive meeting later this month before forcing Unionists to accept government without decommissioning.

However, a Northern Ireland Office spokesman dismissed the claim. He said: "Cedric Wilson's recollection of the meeting is not that of the Secretary of State."

Meanwhile, Ulster Unionist security spokesman Ken Maginnis launched a stinging attack on the British and Irish governments, blaming them for the recent upsurge in terrorist activity.

He said: "It's a direct consequence of two governments having shamelessly failed to display courage and integrity in the wake of the Republican Movement's failure to adapt to the democratic process."