President Clinton has given Sinn Fein an assurance of US support for the fair treatment of the party in the peace negotiations. Sinn Fein had specifically sought this from the White House 24 hours before Mr Gerry Adams called for an IRA ceasefire.
In his statement welcoming the ceasefire, President Clinton said the negotiations "must ensure equality, justice and respect for both cultures".
He picked out "leaders of Sinn Fein" for special commendation and promised that "my administration will work with Sinn Fein as with other political parties".
This is the kind of language that Sinn Fein and the IRA sought from the White House as the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, and the British and Irish governments worked to persuade the republican leaders to take the plunge and renew the ceasefire.
Mr Adams, in an interview with CNN yesterday, went out of his way to praise President Clinton's statement, "which gives a very fair and positive commitment from the US and the White House to assist people to try and build a new future in our own country for all the people of this small island of Ireland".
Last Thursday as the behind-the-scenes ceasefire moves intensified, Sinn Fein asked two US congressmen to lobby the White House on its behalf. Sinn Fein wanted the White House to be given assurances that it was sincere in its peace efforts and to ask that President Clinton try to guarantee equality of treatment for Sinn Fein in the all-party negotiations which would follow a ceasefire.
These requests were passed on to the White House by the congressmen. They were Mr Richard Neal, a Democrat from Massachusetts, and Mr Peter King, a Republican from New York.
They are also two of the four cochairmen of the Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs on Capitol Hill, which has been critical of British government handling of Drumcree and on human rights in Northern Ireland.
Mr King told The Irish Times yesterday that Sinn Fein wanted the White House to know how "serious" they were about the ceasefire.
"They also wanted assurances there would be no repetition of the way it was back in 1995 and 1996 when the British were trying to obstruct the role between Sinn Fein and the US." Mr King emphasised that it was in no way a question of a Sinn Fein "ultimatum". The message was that "they were acting in good faith and assumed the US was acting in good faith towards them."
Mr King said the White House and the National Security Council "have always said that they find Adams to be totally honest and above board".
Mr Neal said he believed the decision of the Orange Order to re-route marches to avoid passing through nationalist areas contributed to the calling of the ceasefire. It showed that the order was ahead of unionist politicians.
The order had "acknowledged that under the magnifying glass of public opinion many of their positions would not stand up," Mr Neal said.
Senator Edward Kennedy has called the restoration of the ceasefire "a tremendously positive and historic development". "The people of Northern Ireland overwhelmingly want the talks to succeed, and all friends of Ireland in the United States will do our best to see that they do," the senator said.
In his statement, President Clinton emphasised the importance of the future negotiations and the US willingness to contribute to their success. Saying he expected the ceasefire "to be implemented unequivocally and permanently", he called for the negotiations to result in "a settlement that will heal age-old divisions and create an environment in which both vibrant traditions can flourish and prosper".
This was a moment of great possibility. "As Northern Ireland political leaders begin to shape their future, I urge them to do so on the basis of the principles of fairness and compromise that underpin all democratic systems."
But Mr Clinton also cautioned against unrealistic expectations. "These negotiations must be based on a commitment to bringing about positive change and respecting the eventual settlement, even though it will not fulfil all the desires of any one party or community."
Responding to Sinn Fein's request for assurances of equality of treatment in the negotiations, the President warned that "such negotiations can only take place free from the shadow of violence or the threat of violence. That is why we look to Sinn Fein, like other parties participating in the talks, to give their full commitment to the Mitchell Principles."
President Clinton spelled out as clearly as he could that compromises will have to be accepted by both nationalist and unionist communities if the talks are to succeed, but held out the promise of US support if this were the case.
"On the basis of this ceasefire, implemented unequivocally, my administration will work with Sinn Fein as with other political parties. The United States will strongly support those who take risks of principled compromise as they seek a peaceful and prosperous future for themselves and their children," Mr Clinton concluded.