The panel's proposals offer a chance for a breakthrough on this vital issue in the year ahead.
The US president, Barack Obama, spoke to his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, by telephone on Friday evening but there was no breakthrough on the issue.
The key to the political breakthrough on the issue appeared to lie in a shift of political calculus by Mr. Robinson, the unionist leader.
But an hour and 40 minutes of discussions here, which Mr. Kerry said were sometimes "spirited," failed to yield a breakthrough on the issue.
"President Peña would not subject himself to the horrors of having to present a visa," says his ambassador in Ottawa, Francisco Suárez Dávila.Mr Peña had hoped that a meeting with Mr Harper earlier this year, on the sidelines of the "three amigos" summit with President Barack Obama, would lead to a breakthrough on the issue.
His proposal may be a breakthrough on the issue, as the initial response was positive from Republicans and Democrats on the Board, from top advisers to County Executive Andrew J. Spano and from the League of Women Voters, which has been prodding the Board to act.
Over the past week, we've seen two breakthroughs on the issue of taxing Wall Street speculation - one in the United States and one in Europe.
The deal, which was met with an eruption of cheers and ovations from thousands of delegates gathered from around the world, represents a historic breakthrough on an issue that has foiled decades of international efforts to address climate change.
Michael Rubin, a neoconservative firebrand at the American Enterprise Institute, wrote in Commentary magazine, "Simply put, the chief impediment to peace and stability in the Middle East is Iran, and it's long past time the United States begins to realize that there will be no breakthrough on any issue of concern to U.S. national security until the Islamic Republic no longer exists.
"If we do not stand our ground on this issue, it will be impossible to reach a breakthrough".
