Biden To Encourage NI Parties To Return To Stormont On GFA Anniversary Trip

US President Joe Biden arrives in Belfast later this evening UK-time as part of a whistle-stop visit to Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement that brought an end to the long period of sectarian violence known as 'The Troubles'. Biden is set to deliver an address at Ulster University at 1300BST (0800ET/1400CET) on Wednesday 12 April. Prior to this he is set to meet with the leaders of Northern Ireland's main political parties in an effort to encourage them to return to the power-sharing executive at Stormont.

• Former UK PM Tony Blair has stated that Biden should be wary of 'lecturing' Northern Ireland's leaders, notably the hard line unionist DUP, saying that 'There is a difference between influencing and pressurising, and the one tends to be positive, the other can be negative.'
• Biden is unlikely to receive a receptive audience among unionist politicians given his frequent comments regarding his family's history in the Republic of Ireland, with some hard-liners viewing the president as an unreliable broker.
• Following the Northern Ireland visit, Biden travels to the Republic of Ireland on Thursday 13 April where he will address the Oireachtas, the joint houses of parliament at 1400BST, before a speech to the public outside St. Muredach's Cathedral in Ballina, County Mayo on Friday 14 April at ~2100BST (1600ET).