John Kerry has vowed to make a renewed push on the Northern Ireland peace process if elected to the White House this November.

The Democratic presidential candidate made the pledge as his party gathered for its national convention in Boston.

The party’s 45 page policy platform, which does not carry the same significance as a British general election manifesto, nevertheless pledges "to help create a lasting peace in Northern Ireland".

"We support efforts by the Irish and British governments and the political parties to break the current impasse and we stand ready to assist in any way to achieve full implementation of the Belfast Agreement," added the document.

Kerry will be confirmed as his party’s nominee in a primetime speech this Thursday.

The last Democratic president, Bill Clinton, played a key role in the Good Friday agreement and used his recent memoirs to claim that Northern Ireland provided him with some of the "best days" of his presidency.

Kerry’s statement this week falls short of attacking President Bush's record on Northern Ireland.

But during the primary nominations process campaign the Kerry campaign slammed the Bush White House for failing to continue the good work of its predecessor.

"John Kerry believes that President Bush has failed to recognise the importance of building on the work of President Clinton in facilitating the peace process," his team said.

"The absence of presidential involvement in efforts to further the peace process are clear evidence that Ireland is not a high priority for the Bush administration."

However, if Kerry wins the November contest, the peace process could be back on track before he takes office in January 2005.

Talks have been scheduled for this September, with the two government's hoping to reach an agreement on restoring devolution.

By next January either the hard work will have been done, or the peace process will be facing difficulties that could be intractable.

Meanwhile, SDLP leader Mark Durkan has put the emphasis on the role of Ulster's parties in ending the current deadlock.

"There is no reason why we cannot make a breakthrough in the peace process if, above all, Sinn Fein and the DUP want to," he said.