LONDON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- British Prime Minister Theresa May on Wednesday met with leaders of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein on restoring devolved government to Northern Ireland.
"In both meetings, she said it was important for everyone to reflect on the circumstances which have led to this and their positions, so a way forward could be found to restore an Executive," the spokesperson for the prime minister said in a statement issued after the Wednesday afternoon meetings.
It has been 13 months since the devolved institutions at Stormont collapsed in a row over a botched green energy scheme which quickly expanded to include differences over identity and the Irish language.
Months of inter-party negotiations since then have failed to produce a breakthrough, although the British government has said progress has been made.
"She made clear how the UK government remains steadfast in its commitment to the Belfast Agreement and its successors and reiterated that devolved government is in the best interests of the people in Northern Ireland," the spokesperson said.
"On next steps, she set out how the Northern Ireland Secretary would continue to work intensively with the parties on the basis for an agreement," the spokesperson said.
"The prime minister also made clear how challenging decisions lay ahead as the UK government has a responsibility to ensure the continued delivery of public services in Northern Ireland."
On the weeks ahead, the prime minister said "she will be working closely with the Northern Ireland secretary and will continue to engage with the parties and the Irish government," the spokesperson added.
At a press conference outside Westminster earlier Wednesday, the Sinn Fein President, Mary Lou McDonald, said, "We can only surmise from our meeting with the British prime minister that the government doesn't have a viable plan for carving a pathway for the restoration of the institutions.
"We're disappointed that the government seems wedded to what they are calling 'a reflection period', she said.
Talks between the DUP and Sinn Fein collapsed last week, and the two sides blamed each other for an impasse over a proposed Irish language act.
The parties still disagree on whether or not a draft agreement was on the table before the talks broke down.
On Tuesday, parts of the draft agreement being worked on were leaked and published.
These confirmed what had already been reported about a three-stranded approach to the language question, which would have resulted in an Irish language act, an Ulster Scots act, and a so-called respecting language and diversity act.
But there was a degree of ambiguity as to whether this had been fully signed off by all the parties.
