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Writing Peace: The National Archives of the UK (TNA)

Memo from Stephen Wall Providing Details of an Upcoming Meeting between John Major and Albert Reynolds

Wednesday, 23 September 1992

i24154

Note provides the confidential reasoning behind the decision to organise the Anglo-Irish Summit at short notice. The line for the press is provided.

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MR. HASLAM

cc Mrs. Goodchild

ANGLO-IRISH SUMMIT

There will be an Anglo-Irish Summit in London this Friday, 25 September, starting at 12 noon, continuing over lunch and finishing at about 1430.

I have agreed with the Irish the following announcement, which we should make at 1400 hours:

"The Prime Minister and the Taoiseach will meet in London on Friday 25 September in preparation for the Special Summit called by the British Presidency on 16 October. They will review progress in the Round Table talks on Northern Ireland and other matters of bilateral interest."

Background

If asked why the meeting has been fixed up at short notice, you could say that a Summit had been due this Autumn. The Prime Minister has been in touch with the Taoiseach and they agreed that this was a good moment to meet, both to prepare for the Special European Council and to discuss other issues.

The (confidential) background is that a meeting of the Inter-Governmental Conference under the Anglo-Irish Agreement was due to take place next week. Had the meeting gone ahead, the Ulster Unionists would have walked out of the Northern Ireland talks. The Summit this week is instead of a meeting of the Inter-GovernmentaI Conference next week, but the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach will need to agree and announce the date of the next session of the IGC.

We should obviously not reveal any of this but, if you are asked whether the Summit replaces the scheduled meeting of the Inter-Governmental Conference next week, you could say unattributably that the date for the next meeting of the IGC is one of the issues that will be discussed by the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach.

J. S. WALL

23 September 1992

FOREIGN\TAOISEACH.DCA