BELFAST (Reuters) - Talks to save Northern Ireland’s devolved government ran straight into an obstacle on Monday as Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster resisted renewed demands by Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein not to return as first minister.

A snap election on Friday saw Sinn Fein surge to within one seat of the DUP and deny pro-British unionist politicians a majority in the British province’s local assembly for the first time since Ireland was partitioned in 1921.

The election result could have dramatic implications for Northern Ireland’s politics and constitutional status.

The two parties have shared power for a decade in a compulsory coalition that is a key part of the 1998 peace deal that ended three decades of sectarian violence. Their government collapsed in January after Sinn Fein withdrew support over Foster’s handling of a controversial energy scheme.

They now have three weeks to form a new power-sharing government to avoid either devolved power returning to London for the first time since 2007 or the prospect of a third election in less than a year.

Sinn Fein, the former political wing of the Irish Republican Army, has for weeks insisted that it will not support the nomination of Foster as first minister while months of investigations get underway into the abuse of the heating subsidy she established as a minister.

Foster remained defiant, however.

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“That is not the only red line they have put up before negotiations. I think it is a foolish thing to do,” Foster told reporters.

“Our vote was up in every single constituency. I think that is a pretty good basis on which to continue as DUP leader.”

She did not categorically rule out temporarily removing herself from consideration for first minister. Sinn Fein has indicated that it could back another DUP nominee for the position while Foster stays on as party leader.

However Foster, who survived an IRA bomb attack on her school bus and whose father narrowly avoided being killed in an IRA shooting, has made it clear before that she will not be dictated to by Sinn Fein, a position shared by her party.

Sinn Fein also wants Northern Ireland to set rights for Irish language speakers into law, another demand Foster has said she will never accede to.

The Irish and British governments, who are co-guarantors of the two-decade old peace deal, have urged the parties to engage quickly, particularly as Britain is preparing to launch formal divorce proceedings from the European Union.

Northern Ireland is considered the region of the United Kingdom most economically exposed to Brexit, due to its close trade links to the Republic of Ireland. The border between the North and the Republic is the UK’s only land border with the EU.

“The North doesn’t have a voice really on Brexit at the moment because there is no executive so it really does behove the parties to come together. This isn’t a time for red lines,” Irish minister Leo Varadkar told national broadcaster RTE.