The largest loyalist paramilitary group, the UDA, has announced a ceasefire for the next 12 months.
In a lengthy statement released by the Ulster Political Research Group (UPRG), which provides political analysis to the UDA, the group also apologised for the involvement of some of its members in the drugs trade, which it pledged to end.
It declared it would be appointing a representative to re-engage with Gen de Chastelain's international decommissioning body. In its statement, the UDA said its ceasefire would be monitored every three months "to ensure there is real and genuine political movement during and after the election of the new Assembly in Northern Ireland".
The paramilitary group urged the British and Irish governments to be "less dictatorial" in future political negotiations. "An agreed, acceptable and equitable final settlement will produce even greater peace and stability within the confines of our beloved Ulster."
The statement was issued at a press conference on Saturday at an east Belfast hotel. UPRG spokesman, Mr Tommy Kirkham, said the move was being called the "John Gregg Initiative", in memory of the south Antrim UDA brigadier who was shot dead in the loyalist feud earlier this month.
Mr Kirkham said there was a strong desire for the UDA to go down a political path. A former senior UDA figure had told him: "The day John Gregg was murdered changed the face of the UDA forever."
In its statement, the UDA said it was undergoing an internal review which would involve restructuring. It had already made changes to its personnel and structures over the past week.
The six members of the UDA's ruling body, the inner council, have become well known to the public in recent months. The UDA said it was determined that its leaders would remain in the shadows: "It is the intention of the inner council not to have a public face any more and therefore the entire organisation will become faceless once again."
The UPRG alone would liaise with the press, the UDA said. The organisation stated that although it was re-engaging with the decommissioning body, its position on the issue had not changed. It would hand over weapons only after the Provisional IRA had fully decommissioned. On the issue of disbandment, the UDA said it was giving the UPRG time to draw up several proposals on its future, when the threat to the unionist community had disappeared.
It said it would work with community leaders and the police to stop violence along the peace line, but it would not engage in direct dialogue with Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA. It urged loyalists to remain vigilant but not to respond to attacks should the Provisional IRA attempt to destabilise the situation.
It highlighted the responsibility of the security forces to protect the "life and property" of Protestants and added: "The UDA will, as always, be the last line of defence."
With the beginning of another marching season approaching, it stressed the "right" of the Orange Order to march and said it would support any "lawful protests".
The UDA said the drugs problem in the North would have to be "contested in every way possible", and it advised its members to steer clear of any involvement in the trade.
"For those individuals who were known to be members of our organisations and were previously involved in any such behaviour, we apologise," it added.
The UPRG signalled there would be further developments on the UDA initiative later this week. UPRG spokesman, Mr Frank McCoubrey, called on the British government to work with the group to help take the UDA down a purely political path. He acknowledged the widespread scepticism about the statement but said it would be proved wrong. "Give us the time and space we require," he said.