Former US senator Mr George Mitchell has said that a clear statement from the IRA in relation to decommissioning would be very helpful, but has also warned that "political leaders must lead".
Mr Mitchell told a packed audience at NUI Galway last night there was no such thing as a conflict that could not be ended.
However, implementation of an agreement was often far more difficult than reaching it in the first place, and there were many obstacles which still had to be overcome, he said. The senator, who was chairman of the peace negotiations which culminated in the Belfast Agreement, was delivering the third of the university's series of millennium lectures to mark 150 years of student enrolment at Galway.
Northern Ireland was a very different place, and the negotiations were now a different process in comparison to the situation two years ago, Senator Mitchell said.
Earlier this week in Belfast, he had attended a press conference along with the Sinn Fein leader, Mr Gerry Adams, and the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble.
"They chatted and talked to each other. Two years ago, they weren't doing that at all," he said. "So what was then impossible is now a normal occurrence on a regular basis and no one comments on that."
In a veiled reference to the decommissioning issue, Senator Mitchell said this was not a peace process with only one problem attached to it. When the Commission on Policing reported, there would be controversy; as there would be when the report on the criminal justice system was delivered. But the direction had been set by those who voted overwhelmingly for the Belfast Agreement in the 1998 referendum, he said.
Every conflict was different, but certain principles applied in relation to Northern Ireland. "Leaders must lead. And one way is to create an attitude of success, the belief that problems can be solved, that things can be better. Not in a foolish or unrealistic way, but in a way that creates hope and confidence among the people."
A second need was for a clear and determined policy not to yield to the men of violence. "Over and over they tried to destroy the peace process in Northern Ireland; at times they nearly succeeded." This meant that there must be an endless supply of patience and perseverance.
"Seeking an end to conflict is not for the timid or the tentative," Mr Mitchell said. "It takes courage, perseverance and steady nerves in the face of violence. I believe it is a mistake to say in advance that if acts of violence occur the negotiations will stop. That is an invitation to those who use violence to destroy the peace process, and it transfers control of the agenda from the peaceful majority to the violent minority."
A third need was a willingness to compromise. "Most political leaders dislike risk-taking of any kind. Most get to be leaders by minimising risk. To ask them, in the most difficult and dangerous of circumstances, to be bold is asking much."
Senator Mitchell's lecture was attended by the US ambassador to Ireland, Mr Mike Sullivan, and his wife, Jane, and was hosted by the president of NUI Galway, Dr Patrick Fottrell.
The senator is due to address a public question and answer session in the town hall in Galway at lunchtime today as part of the Galway Arts Festival.
