THE Sinn Fein president has said it is not within his gift to persuade the IRA to surrender weapons before negotiations or in order that there be progress in negotiations.
Mr Gerry Adams declined to comment on the decommissioning document agreed by the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister until he had seen its proposals.
He repeated that the new British government was approaching the "core issues" in the peace process "in a more positive way" than its predecessor, and hoped "the deliberations of the last few days, the last few months, will get movement into credible negotiations".
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin yesterday, he welcomed Mr David Trimble's comments on decommissioning. If Mr Trimble was signalling that unionists were "prepared to negotiate change" that was something which "has to be grasped in a very positive way", he said. "If Mr Trimble is indicating that he is prepared to accept that all of these matters can be dealt with as part of substantive negotiations, of course I support that."
Asked about his expectations of a Fianna Fail-led government, Mr Adams said Fianna Fail had "played a key role in laying aside all the old failed policies of exclusion. Their instinct on the issue is better than the outgoing Taoiseach. Although he did his best, and I wish him well, the fact is that his administration saw some faltering of the process with tragic results for us all."
He hoped Fianna Fail would follow its instincts on issues and remember it, too, called itself "the Republican Party." He said Sinn Fein was to decide at a meetings last night what position its TD, Mr Caoimhghin O Caolain, would take in the vote for Taoiseach.