Adams to recommend full and positive participation

The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, will today recommend to the party's ruling executive that it participates "fully and positively" in the Mitchell review of the Belfast Agreement which begins on Monday.

The Sinn Fein ardchomhairle is almost certain to approve his recommendation. The Ulster Unionist Party's executive is also due to decide today whether Mr David Trimble and his colleagues should engage in the review.

The UUP Assembly team stated yesterday that it would participate but that it would deal directly with Sinn Fein only on the basis of a republican commitment to follow exclusively peaceful means of pursuing its political goals.

As the review chairman, Mr George Mitchell, warned that any failure to implement the agreement would be "unforgivable", the UUP and Sinn Fein continued to blame each other for the deadlock in the political process.

Mr Mitchell said that resolving the impasse over decommissioning and the formation of the executive would require action as well as words.

In an interview to be broadcast on ITV tomorrow night, Mr Mitchell said that the political leaders did not trust each other. "I do not think that they can, will or should act solely on the basis of trust. Now I think there clearly have to be the right words but there have to be actions," he added.

Mr Adams last night decided that Sinn Fein should fully engage in the review despite, according to his spokesman, "considerable disquiet and cynicism" among the broad republican constituency about the UUP's true commitment to the process.

Mr Trimble and his Assembly team indicated that while willing to take part in the review on the basis of a peace commitment from Sinn Fein - as well as from the Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party - it reserved the right to withdraw at any time.

However, Mr John Taylor, the UUP deputy leader, said that irrespective of his party's decision he would have no dealings with Sinn Fein in the current circumstances.

Mr Mark Durkan, an SDLP member of the Assembly, criticised Sinn Fein and the UUP for "putting preconditions on the level or form of their involvement in the review".

Mr David Ervine of the PUP said he was saddened by the UUP attitude of not speaking to his party, the UDP or Sinn Fein in the absence of a renewed commitment to peace.