Chairman's Assessment of the Position on the Evening of 8 May

A. The Chairman had met with all delegations and put to them his proposal regarding the venue for Strand 2:

1. Opening Meeting of strand 2 to be held in London.

2. Bulk of substantive exchanges in strand 2 to be held in the Belfast area in a location to be determined.

3. The provisional conclusions of the strand 2 discussions to be summarised at a meeting in Dublin which would also launch the discussions between the two Governments in strand 3, providing an initial opportunity for the Northern Ireland parties to put forward proposals relevant to that strand of discussion.

[Editor's Note: Appendix A of the minutes of the bilateral meeting between the SDLP and the UK Government on 8 May 1991 at 1730.]

All parties had agreed to consider the proposal.

B. Logistical Arrangements

The Chairman had also put to the parties his proposal that the talks should adjourn to Monday for reflection, during which time he would consult the Irish Government.

These logistical arrangements were rejected by the Unionist delegation. They proposed that talks continue on Thursday 9 May to avoid loss of momentum and damaging press speculation over the weekend. The Chairman agreed to put this to the other parties.