The Union flag has been raised over Belfast City Hall for the first time since a council decision not to fly it every day sparked protests.
The flag is flying to mark the 31st birthday of Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton.
A sixth consecutive night of violence in east Belfast last night was brought under control by police, who maintained a presence in the Newtownards Road area overnight.
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson described the disturbances in Belfast over the flag controversy as a setback.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Mr Donaldson said: "Consensus politics has to be the way forward and I think what is happening in Belfast is damaging.
"It has set us back and is a reminder of the dark days of the past. We need to find a better way of dealing with these issues at local government level."
Loyalist paramilitaries have been blamed for orchestrating the violence, which is estimated to have cost more than £7m to police since it began early last month.
First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson and the Ulster Unionist Party will host a meeting of the Unionist Forum to discuss grievances raised by the protesters.
Meanwhile, the leader of the UUP has expressed his concerns about Saturday's planned protest in Dublin by loyalists.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Pat Kenny, Mike Nesbitt said he was nervous about the planned protest outside Leinster House and wondered what it might achieve.
He said: "The only positive I see from street protest is raising awareness about issues and I do believe that in terms of raising awareness about flags there is no more to be done.
"Everybody's aware, in fact you could argue that too many people are aware. Ask Invest Northern Ireland about how difficult it is to get inward investors into Northern Ireland.
"They will say too many potential inward investors in China and America are more than aware of the flag issue and it is not doing us anything other than harm."
Mr Nesbitt said the recent violence is no longer just about the flying of the Union flag and that the issues were much more complex.
He said: "You know it's no longer about the flying of the flag at Belfast City Council. It's no longer about the flying of the flag at council or indeed public buildings.
"It has opened a Pandora's box of discontent about cultural identity, about the economy and about politics."
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