THE Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, made an impassioned appeal for a new IRA ceasefire last night, after failing to secure British agreement on a fixed date for Sinn Fein's entry into talks.
Mr Bruton, and the British Prime Minister, Mr John Major, put on a public display of common purpose after nearly two hours of discussion on the North during their summit meeting at 10 Downing Street.
But the fundamental differences of approach between London and Dublin were not resolved, and Irish sources said they did not expect any further progress to be made during bilateral discussions between Mr Bruton and Mr Major on the margins of next weekend's European summit in Dublin.
The Irish view was that domestic pressures and parliamentary arithmetic had finally left Mr Major with no room for manoeuvre.
Mr Bruton said he believed that in practical terms Sinn Fein could be admitted to talks in the new year.
"A way forward is in place," he said. "All who are willing to negotiate with patience and determination are welcome to take part. For the sake of the people of Ireland, and of all in these islands, I call on the republican movement to give us an IRA ceasefire."
But Mr Major repeatedly refused to speculate on a date for Sinn Fein's entry to talks. Asked if he agreed with Mr Bruton's assessment, the Prime Minister said: "I have never been prepared to put a date to it because I don't think the question is the passage of a particular time span. The question at issue is the actions of Sinn Fein/IRA.
"It is not just a question of saying `we are going to have another ceasefire', we need to know on this occasion that it is a genuine ceasefire. .. We need to see not only what they say about the ceasefire, but what they subsequently do."
The Taoiseach said the two governments had already fixed a date for the start of all party talks, June 10th last, and those talks had started. And he said they had also agreed "detailed ground rules for those talks" and were now "working together to achieve an IRA ceasefire so that all parties, including Sinn Fein, can participate.
"My Government's position is that if the IRA calls an unequivocal ceasefire, in words that are believable, and provided there is nothing done that is inconsistent with this ceasefire, or with the Mitchell principles, then Sinn Fein should be admitted to participation in the talks in accordance with the ground rules that we have agreed.
"The first step, however, is a credible ceasefire. The onus is on the republican movement to restore the ceasefire credibly at the earliest moment. I want to see Sinn Fein's participation in the talks at the earliest moment too on that basis."
Mr Major said he shared Mr Bruton's view "that there should be no undue and unnecessary delay in coming to a judgment". But, against Sinn Fein's demand for a fixed and guaranteed point of entry, the making of that decision would remain a matter for the British government to determine.
"The onus, to enable us to reach that judgment, depends upon the actions of Sinn Fein/IRA, firstly to restore their ceasefire credibly, to do so as soon as possible, and then have a judgment made upon whether it is a genuine and lasting ceasefire, and upon the actions on the ground that we need to see in order to establish the ground rules procedure," said Mr Major.
Asked if he ruled out making such a judgment by next month, Mr Major said: "I am not ruling anything out or anything in. I am not going to be drawn on dates because I have said until I am blue in the face that I don't think dates are the point. The point is actions, the point is people need to be convinced, in order to sit down and talk with Sinn Fein, that this time it is not a fake."
In Belfast last night, Sinn Fein and the SDLP expressed disappointment at the outcome of the London summit. Hopes of a preChristmas IRA ceasefire were "substantially diminished", the SDLP warned.
Mr Reg Empey of the Ulster Unionist Party welcomed the fact that Mr Major appeared to be adhering to appropriate terms for Sinn Fein's entry into multi party talks.