Canon Ian Ellis: Factors such as war in Ukraine have brought the EU and UK closer and made it easier to reach agreement over Northern Ireland

That will take time and indeed Mr Sunak has acknowledged as much. Yet, going by what was said by both leaders and in subsequent reactions, it is clear that while major progress has been achieved there remain some sticking points. Of course, in negotiations all parties do not usually get all that they want. Negotiations are necessary because there are competing demands, and a resolution can be expected to require give and take.

Behind all of this Windsor Framework debate lie years of wrangling between Belfast, London, Dublin and Brussels. The DUP having pulled out of the executive over the protocol does seem to have given extra urgency to finding a resolution to its drawbacks. Yet there is much more that has brought us to this point. Mr Sunak, a Brexiteer, is also a level-headed politician and sufficiently astute to see that the best interests of the UK as a whole lie in a more settled relationship with the EU.

The forthcoming 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement gave the discussions a timeline focus, and the intended Protocol Bill was in the mix. Then again, the importance of closer UK-EU collaboration in scientific research and in tackling the global climate change challenges is clear. Yet, perhaps more importantly than is often recognised, the brutal attack on Ukraine by Russia under Vladimir Putin has not only brought NATO countries closer but has also underlined the importance of western European solidarity, both within the EU and beyond its borders. The UK is clearly a key partner in this.

In the run up to the 2016 Brexit referendum, I conducted a press interview with then secretary of state Theresa Villiers. The interview touched on a number of topics and naturally the upcoming referendum was one of them. When I asked Ms Villiers to comment on concerns that had been expressed by then Archbishop of Armagh Richard Clarke and Archbishop Michael Jackson of Dublin regarding the consequences of a UK withdrawal from the EU, principally focused on relationships, the secretary of state said she wished to offer the archbishops “reassurance that I firmly believe that Northern Ireland, like the rest of the UK, would be more prosperous and have a brighter future outside of the European Union”.

Ms Villiers also said that “with a bit of common sense and goodwill we can maintain a border which is just as open after a Brexit vote” as it was then, which seemed a rather blasé comment in the circumstances. Given the reality of Brexit having happened, extra arrangements are needed for this the only part of the UK with a land border with the EU and the purpose of an open border is to promote good relationships across the island of Ireland.

The protocol in effect created a customs border in the Irish Sea but now, under the Windsor Framework, much of the difficulty surrounding that would be remedied even if some administration is still required for goods passing through the 'green lane'. Nonetheless, keeping an open border is an understandable priority because of the particular circumstances of Northern Ireland.

At the Windsor press conference Mr Sunak also alluded to the importance of relationships, pointing out that the framework that was presented was ultimately about much more than laws or treaties, but was fundamentally about people in their daily lives. Of course, it is about both dimensions, and both have to be carefully considered. Where do we go from here?

Naturally, that is an intensely political matter but it is also a matter that concerns relationships across this island and beyond. It was heartening to note the comments by Progressive Unionist Party leader Billy Hutchinson in this newspaper (February 28th) calling for calm after reports that the UVF was threatening violence if the protocol deal was not satisfactory to loyalism. Also heartening to note in the same issue of the News Letter were remarks by UUP councillor Dr John Kyle that he had not heard “the slightest hint of support” for such threats.

The people of Northern Ireland emphatically do not want to go back to the dark days of the Troubles, days when so many people lost their lives, their loved ones, their livelihoods and their homes, as a result of terror. There was brutality on an immense scale, causing so much suffering for so many.

The Windsor Framework demands, and is receiving, serious study and consideration. That is required in all our interests. With the Stormont Brake seeming in fact to be more a Westminster Brake the issues of relationships and trust come to the fore.

Any UK government would have to have a twin focus on maintaining a constructive relationship with the EU while at the same time being prepared to take any Stormont concerns with the seriousness that they deserve. It may be that there can be some further amendments to the deal, but there clearly is no appetite in London or Brussels for any further major negotiations.

Canon Ian Ellis is a former editor of The Church of Ireland Gazette