Washington reaction: The US National Security Adviser, Ms Condoleezza Rice, last night urged the leaders of the Northern Ireland parties to embrace the Belfast Agreement.
Speaking in Crawford, Texas where President Bush is spending the Thanksgiving holiday, Ms Rice expressed concern about the impact on the Northern Ireland peace process of the election results.
"Of course everybody is concerned and sure that there will be discussions," she said. "I would hope that any leadership would recognise that the Good Friday agreement gives an opportunity for Northern Ireland to continue to develop."
She said the Bush administration had suspected that foes of the peace process might win significant gains. She and Mr Bush's envoy to the peace process, Mr Richard Haass, had "talked about the prospects" a couple weeks earlier.
"I do believe that after having a tasting of peace, that the people of Northern Ireland desperately want peace," said Ms Rice, who returned to the US yesterday after accompanying Mr Bush to Iraq. "They're seeing an expanding economy; they're seeing life return to normal."
