THE White House has moved swiftly to correct a statement by its National Security Adviser, Mr Anthony Lake, which seemed to indicate there was little hope for a new IRA ceasefire.
Ms Nancy Soderberg, deputy to Mr Lake, told The Irish Times yesterday that Mr Lake's view, as given on a TV programme last Sunday, had been seriously misinterpreted.
Asked if there would be "another ceasefire in Ireland soon", Mr Lake said he hoped so but added that "the talks, frankly, are not going well". "There's always a danger that the ceasefire could again be broken", he said.
This was interpreted to mean that Mr Lake believed the peace talks were unlikely to produce an IRA ceasefire.
But Ms Soderberg says that this is wrong. Mr Lake meant there was "a constant threat of another IRA bomb" during this phase of the talks. He did not mean there was little hope for a future ceasefire.
Reports of his comments caused dismay among Irish and US officials negotiating behind the scenes, to secure an IRA ceasefire and Sinn Fein's entry to the peace talks.
If a senior White House official such as Mr Lake is already writing off the likelihood of a ceasefire, this could undermine efforts to reach a compromise between the British government position and the IRA conditions for an end to its campaign.
Ms Soderberg said that while "there are some problems", the talks offered "an enormous opportunity to be seized". The talks must be moved forward and the IRA pressed to call a new ceasefire.