After a meeting with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Belfast on talks over the controversial Northern Ireland Protocol, Naomi Long, the leader of Northern Ireland's centrist Alliance Party, says that "things are gradually moving in the direction of a potential deal" but cautions that "we are not over the line yet." The protocol on post-Brexit trading rules, signed between London and Brussels keeps Northern Ireland in the European single market and customs union and stipulates checks on goods moving from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland. It has proved deeply unpopular with the UK-run province's unionist politicians, causing months of political deadlock. SOUNDBITE