PRESIDENT Clinton took advantage of the state visit to the US of the President, Mrs Robinson, to express strong US support for the Northern Ireland peace talks. But in a reference to the IRA he said it was not possible to have successful talks "with a gun to your head", in turn told Mr Clinton that relations between the two countries have never been closer than "just at this moment". In an obvious reference to the peace talks, she added that "perhaps this is the most important moment for Ireland".
Mr Clinton said he had discussed UN matters with Mrs Robinson but the question of her suitability to become the next secretary general had not arisen.
"I have a very high regard for President Robinson and I think she would do a good job in any position she might be considered for but this question was not discussed," he said.
Following a meeting between the two presidents in the Oval Office at the White House, the US President said at a joint press conference that he had re affirmed to Mrs Robinson that "the US will do everything it possibly can do to help the negotiations along".
Earlier, he had told Irish journalists in the Oval Office that he felt "pretty good" about the way things were going in Belfast so far. He was not discouraged at the way Mr George Mitchell had been treated at the beginning.
Everyone had known that there were going to be "rocky places on the road" but now that the procedural matters appear to have been resolved, he hoped the IRA ceasefire would be restored "so that everyone will be participating in the talks".
Mr Clinton said he had no inside information about such a ceasefire but he could say what he hoped would happen. Every voice representing a substantial element of the people in Northern Ireland needed to be heard in the talks. "But if the purpose of the talks is to produce a lasting and, enduring peace, you can't have such talks with a gun to your head."
But he did not interpret the increased Sinn Fein vote as "a vote for violence". He would like to congratulate Mr Adams on the vote and say to him that he hoped a ceasefire could be obtained to allow Sinn Fein to be at the table.
He dismissed a suggestion that unionists were suspicious of US involvement in the peace process. The US had done everything its could "to facilitate an end to violence" and to ensure the participation of all parties. But it had done so as "interested outsiders not insiders".
Mrs Robinson praised him for his successful visit to the North and Dublin last December. She recalled how it had brought the people into the streets and given them a new sense of hope.
Concerning the UN, she said that their discussions had been more "philosopical" than focussed on specific issues. They both agreed that the UN tended to be "under appreciated" for the work it does do.
Also present at the restricted meeting in the Oval Office were the US Vice President, Mr Al Gore; the Tanaiste, Mr Spring; the Secretary of State, Mr Warren Christopher; the US ambassador to Ireland, Mrs Jean Kennedy Smith; the National Security adviser to the President, Mr Tony Lake and his assistant, Ms Nancy Soderberg; the Irish ambassador to the US, Mr Dermot Gallagher and Mrs Robinson's secretary, Mr Peter Ryan.