Elections to the suspended Northern Ireland Assembly must take place before any talks are held to restore devolution, Democratic Unionist deputy leader Mr Peter Robinson said today.
All parties needed a fresh mandate before entering possible talks in the autumn said Mr Robinson, MP for East Belfast, but warned the DUP would boycott any review of the Belfast Agreement prior to the elections.
"If the Secretary of State is to call an election and allow people to get a mandate in order to negotiate, of course we'll be involved and as representatives of the unionist community, we will have a very significant say.
"If, on the other hand, the Secretary of State thinks by sleight of hand that even though the Belfast Agreement specifically indicates that any review process has to be with those parties that are in the assembly, he is going to put back the clock and pretend that we are all in the assembly when in fact we are not, then we wouldn't be part of that process.
"You cannot be part of a review for an assembly that does not at present exist."
The Assembly has been suspended since an alleged IRA spy-ring inside Stormont was exposed last October.
Elections to the Assembly have twice been called off as London and Dublin struggle to broker a deal to restore devolution.
Mr Robinson said that if the government wanted all-party talks in a bid to kick-start the process, it would first have to hold fresh elections to allow politicians to be mandated.
Sinn Féin and the SDLP have also called for immediate elections to take place.
Mr David Trimble and his Ulster Unionists refuse to return to government with Sinn Féin until they receive cast iron assurances the IRA will disband.
But hard-liners within the party have accused the UUP chief of not going far enough, provoking instability and speculation that he could face a fresh leadership challenge.