Sinn Fein MP, Mr Martin McGuinness has called on all political parties to defend the Irish Constitution and not allow US troops use Shannon Airport as a stopover on the way to Iraq.
Mr McGuinness made his comments yesterday after a meeting at the US State Department in Washington with the US envoy to Northern Ireland, Mr Richard Haass. Asked how he felt about the Ulster Unionist Party's distribution of Sinn Féin anti-Iraq war press releases to key figures in Washington political, diplomatic and media circles, Mr McGuinness said that his party could have little influence over US policy on Iraq and it was not a source of friction with the US administration.
On the subject of stopovers in Shannon, Mr McGuinness said that all Irish parties needed to defend the south's neutrality. "It's my view that the Constitution of the south of Ireland needs to be defended by all political parties," he said.
He said he had a good meeting with Mr Haass and welcomed the US administration's contribution to lifting the current impasse in the North.
"We had a good meeting with Ambassador Haass and had a very through discussion about the state of play in Ireland and I think he recognises that there is an opportunity to comprehensively deal with the difficulties within the process," he said.
"If we are to be successful in our endeavours in the following weeks, and I think that they are critical weeks that will either make or break the Good Friday agreement, then I think that active participation of the US administration is required."
Mr McGuinness said there was general agreement between the Northern parties and the US that the situation should be resolved by St Patrick's Day.He added that the recent meeting between the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister was "the most important meeting to have happened in 20 years."