Progress has been made in talks between Sinn Féin and the British government, Sinn Féin's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness has said.
Speaking at a republican commemoration in South Armagh he said: "It has not been an easy negotiation, it has only moved into a higher gear in recent weeks.
"Nonetheless, some movement has emerged, particularly around a British government commitment to new legislation on policing and criminal justice."
Mr McGuinness said some progress was also made on other matters which did not require legislation. He added: "Our goal is to achieve progress across all of the issues, like policing, criminal justice, demilitarisation, equality, human rights and the Irish language, as well as tackling the future sustainability and stability of the political institutions and what that means for unionists.
"That means acts of completion by the British Government which convince republicans and nationalists that there is a process, a plan in place that will see the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement."
Mr McGuinness also hit out at Ulster Unionist leader David Trimble, who suggested sanctions should be imposed on Sinn Fein if the IRA indulged in paramilitary activity.
He said: "Any move to introduce sanctions would be entirely outside the terms of the Good Friday Agreement and will be resisted by us. "Under no circumstances will Sinn Fein accept the rights of our electorate being diluted or denied.
"We will not be held accountable except for the Sinn Fein party and our mandate."