Northern Ireland Secretary of State Mr John Reid tonight denied making IRA decommissioning a precondition of political progress.
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Mr John Reid
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Speaking after a meeting with Sinn Féin, which has accused him of supporting the North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, Mr Reid said he wanted to see all the outstanding issues of the peace process resolved.
He said those issues included restoring the rights of Sinn Féin ministers Mr Martin McGuinness and Ms Bairbre De Brun to attend cross-border ministerial meetings.
"I also want to see as much progress as possible on the issue of policing, so that we can get a new police service in Northern Ireland," he said.
Mr Reid said he also wanted to see the military presence diminished and progress on decommissioning.
"I'm somebody who thinks it is more important to get to solutions, rather than to involve ourselves in slanging matches and I hope today's meeting took that further."
Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams called on Mr Reid to put pressure on Mr Trimble to reverse the ban on Sinn Féin ministers attending cross-border meetings. He said the Northern Ireland secretary must honour his responsibility to promote the Good Friday Agreement.
The dispute centres on recent statements made by Mr Reid, which Sinn Féin believed supported Mr Trimble's ban on their ministers in the absence of IRA disarmament.
PA