London  - The British government Tuesday hailed as "historic" an agreement struck by the political leaders in Northern Ireland to end five months of political stalemate in the province and to move ahead with the completion of the peace process.

Northern Ireland's First Minister Peter Robinson, who also leads the Protestant Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and his deputy, Martin McGuinness of the Catholic Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, said regular meetings of the executive, or cabinet, would resume on Thursday.

The executive has not met since June as a result of disagreement over the transfer of policing and justice powers to the executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly, or regional parliament, from the British government in London.

The issue, affecting the sensitive areas of policing and justice in a province plagued by 30 years of bitter civil strife, had paralyzed political life in Northern Ireland and threatened to collapse the independent government institutions set up as a result of the 1998 Northern Ireland Peace Agreement.

Under the agreement struck Tuesday, both sides will work out a process by which the powers for justice and policing will be transferred to the institutions in Northern Ireland
- away from the government in London.

"This is a historic day for Northern Ireland which writes a new chapter in their history," British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.

"For the first time we have seen a breakthrough in the deadlock over the devolution of policing and justice and this is the last building block in the process for bringing peace and democracy to Northern Ireland."

Britain's Northern Ireland Secretary, Shaun Woodward, described as an "historic moment" the fact that the breakthrough was achieved by the two main political leaders leaders in Northern Ireland, without the participation of the governments of Britain and Ireland.

"This is homegrown, it is something authored by the politicians of Northern Ireland. It will mark a maturing of the political process, and a maturing of democracy here which shows the politicians of Northern Ireland can take control," Woodward said.

In Dublin, Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen said: "It is of great importance that devolution of policing and justice powers proceed. Its successful completion will be the final piece of the jigsaw of the peace process."

Robinson, who has led the power-sharing government in Belfast since the departure from office in May of Ian Paisley, the veteran Protestant politician, said the two sides had managed to overcome the "most difficult issues" facing the peace process.

"We believe these arrangements are capable of gaining the confidence of the community and we look to the prime minister (of Britain) to make good his commitment of helping to resolve the financial arrangements relating to the devolution of these powers."

McGuinness said "significant progress" had been made. Both ministers said they wanted devolution to happen "without undue delay."

Although no timetable has been set for the transfer of power, temporary arrangements have been made for appointing a new attorney general for Northern Ireland and to create a new Department of Justice which will operate completely independently from the government in London. (dpa)