American envoy Richard Haass has returned to Belfast for a second attempt at quelling simmering disputes in Northern Ireland.
Haass, a former U.S. diplomat, was called in by the province’s power sharing government to help resolve lingering disputes over flags, parades, and how to deal with the legacy of Northern Ireland’s conflict.
All three issues have repeatedly tested the province’s two-decade peace process, a series of agreements aimed at reconciling Northern Ireland’s pro-British Protestants and pro-Irish Catholics after decades of bloodshed.
Haass failed to bring the parties to an agreement before Christmas, but saw enough potential to return for a second try.
In a Twitter message on Saturday, he said a “real opportunity for progress exists”.
