BELFAST, (Reuters) – Northern Ireland’s rival main  parties agreed a deal yesterday to devolve police and justice  powers to Belfast from London and end a lengthy row that had  threatened to topple their power-sharing government.

The agreement would give Northern Ireland its first justice  minister and marks one of the boldest steps towards  consolidating the 1998 Good Friday Agreement that mostly ended  three decades of sectarian violence that cost 3,600 lives.

Failure could have led to an increase in violence and would  almost certainly have triggered a snap election in the British  province where former foes, the predominantly Roman Catholic  Sinn Fein and the mainly Protestant Democratic Unionist Party  (DUP), share power. “I believe that the assembly and political institutions can  now proceed on the basis of equality, fairness and partnership,”  Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams said in a statement.

“I had the opportunity to put the proposals to the party,”  DUP leader Peter Robinson told reporters afterwards. “The  assembly party asked questions and has unanimously supported the  way forward.”

The terms of the deal which ended two weeks of talks would  be published today, Robinson said.

The British and Irish prime ministers, who flew into  Northern Ireland at the start of last week to broker crisis  talks, are now expected to fly back to Northern Ireland.

Sinn Fein wants to see Northern Ireland united with the  Republic of Ireland, while the DUP wants the province to stay  part of Britain.

Talks between Sinn Fein and the DUP were stalled by  disagreement over a date for devolution and the issue of a  parades commission to oversee marches, a long-standing, mainly  Protestant tradition.

Hopes have previously run high that a deal was close only  for the sides to announce there were still issues to resolve.

DUP leader Robinson resumed his role as Northern Ireland’s  First Minister on Wednesday, giving him more clout to spur on  the devolution talks.

He had temporarily stepped aside as first minister to focus  on an inquiry involving his wife.