Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams today called on unionists to grasp the opportunity provided by the British and Irish governments to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.
Mr Adams welcomed the forthright manner in which the Assembly was being reconvened in May but said he was concerned by the timetable outlined by Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoisearch Bertie Ahern.
He claimed his party had made huge concessions to get the peace process back on track and urged the Democratic Unionist Party to do the same.
Mr Adams said: "I appeal to unionism to seize this opportunity. "It is about a shared future for all the people on this island."
Mr Adams was joined by a party delegation, including chief negotiator Martin McGuinness, as he gave his response to the joint government initiative in Parliament Buildings.
He said: "It appears that they are saying to the DUP 'if you don't come on board we are going to go ahead without you'. We want to tease out what precisely they mean in terms of the joint partnership."
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte said the attitude of the DUP on power-sharing, and the antipathy of the SDLP and Sinn Fein towards the Governments' approach, suggests it will be difficult for this new strategy to succeed within the timeframe set out.
"In that regard, I am slightly concerned that the two governments are signalling a further round of 'hot house' talks outside Northern Ireland.
Mr Rabbitte said: "The DUP must agree to share power with Sinn Fein and the SDLP."
He said: "They must drop their demands for significant changes to Strand One that effectively undermine some of the fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement, in order to enter the Executive."
"Similarly, Sinn Fein must signal their support the PSNI and take their seats on the Policing Board," he added.
Church of Ireland primate Robin Eames said: "The dangers of further drift or political vacuum are real."
He said: "I believe the whole of this society should take a little time to consider the proposals and not engage in knee-jerk reactions."
"Experience shows us that you cannot legislate for reconciliation. Any political solution must be transparent and offer equal responsibility to all the parties," he added.
during the summer between the political parties," he said.