The White House is urging all parties in the north to make the compromises needed to reach a final agreement on the issues of parades, flags and the troubled past.
The Chair of the talks, US diplomat Richard Haass has set today as the final deadline for a deal, with all sides meeting again this morning.
A White House statement says the talks have reached a critical juncture, and it's calling on the leaders of the five main parties to reach an agreement that would heal divisions.
Richard Haass says measures aiming to ease months of simmering resentment and violence are extraordinarily close to gaining support.
