THERE was still an opportunity for Mr John Major to break the current impasse in the peace process, according to the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, speaking at a press conference in Belfast.
He also said he had written to the Taoiseach, Mr Bruton in the last few days because of the Irish Government's central role. A spokesman for Mr Bruton declined to comment.
The Sinn Fein leader said efforts for peace need not be put on hold until after the Westminster election: "Progress is still possible if John Major is prepared to go the extra mile.
He called on the British prime minister to instruct his officials to meet Sinn Fein and "work through the areas of difference between the proposals put to him by myself and John Hume last October, add his own government's position".
He added: "The British government must give the issue of peace in Ireland, of an end to war, a higher priority." He was "putting it up to John Major, even at this stage, to take an initiative".
Mr Adams said: "There's always room to talk. There's always room in the course of talking to identify ways out of difficulties. If that wasn't the case there'd be no point in talking, ever. If that wasn't the case we might as well all pack our bags, I might as well take a sabbatical and we'll let those who are engaged in armed actions get on with it."
If he had a preference, he would like to see a stable British government in power after the next election. "Then the excuse, or perhaps it is even in some instances a real factor, of a lame duck prime minister would be removed from the equation," he said.
Mr Adams rejected a report in yesterday's Irish Times that the IRA had considered killing the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, in the early 1980s.
"I have never heard of any republicans, even in jest and even in the difficult periods that have been behind us, discussing any sort of punitive action against John Hume.
"Can I also say, and I'm not trying to draw comparisons, neither have I heard any republicans ever discussing, even in jest, taking punitive action against Ian, Paisley."
He described a claim by a former Garda agent within the IRA, Mr Sean O'Callaghan, that the two men had discussed killing the SDLP leader in 1982 as "totally untrue" and claimed Mr O'Callaghan was following a British "wrecking agenda".
"It's about causing confusion, it's all part of the psychological propaganda that is very much coming out of the British at this point."
Commenting on calls for an international inquiry into Bloody Sunday in Derry, he said it would be "immensely helpful" if the British government agreed to such an investigation. "A healing process is a very necessary part of confidence building." He alleged that the Bloody Sunday shootings had been "cleared" in advance by a special sub committee of the British cabinet.
Referring to a recent letter in The Irish Times from a former Department of Finance official suggesting that the Irish Government possessed hitherto undisclosed evidence on the Bloody, Sunday shootings, Mr Adams said he could not comment in any authoritative way but, whatever information the Government had, it should be used "in a proactive way.
Sinn Fein was criticised in a statement yesterday by the SDLP general election candidate in Fermanagh South Tyrone, Mr Tommy Gallagher: "Instead of facing up to the real issues they flounder about looking for someone to blame. First it was the British government, then the Irish Government and now the SDLP."