Former Senator George Mitchell has said he is "deeply concerned" about the situation in Northern Ireland following the suspension of the institutions but he hopes the political leaders will come from their meetings here with President Clinton with "a commitment to resume discussions and a new determination to press forward".
Mr Mitchell was speaking after receiving the Global Citizen Award for Peace and Reconciliation from Mr Jack Dunfey.
He said it was "frustrating" that the decommissioning issue kept coming up as an obstacle but "we should not despair".
He was "certain" there was a way out of this but he was not able to offer a solution. The best message to the politicians was to tell them "you have our support, encouragement and prayers".
Present at the ceremony were Gen John de Chastelain, chairman of the Independent Commission on Decommissioning; political leaders including Mr John Hume, Mr Seamus Mallon, Mr Gerry Adams, Mr Sean Neeson, Ms Monica McWilliams, Mr David Ervine and Lord Alderdice, Speaker of the suspended assembly.
Asked if there was still a need for an outside independent facilitator like himself to resolve the impasse, Mr Mitchell said he thought not.
"There comes a time when the responsibilities must be with the elected officials chosen by the people." Self-government was only going to work in Northern Ireland if it is "conducted entirely by elected officials".
Asked if deadlines were a help or a hindrance in the peace process, Mr Mitchell said that "depends on the circumstances". He had set an Easter deadline for the Good Friday agreement two years ago but only after consulting the political leaders.
"My assessment now is that the situation is not ripe for a new fixed deadline . . . the urgency is to get the process restarted." Asked if the next US administration would give as much time and effort to Northern Ireland as the present one, Mr Mitchell said that President Clinton's deep personal commitment had a "profound impact on policy and the intensity with which it was pursued".
It was "likely that whoever is elected will pursue a similar policy but I cannot be sure with what intensity".
Speaking as a Democrat, he said that if Governor George Bush were elected he would probably continue the same US policy but it was unlikely that it would be with the same degree of intensity and knowledge as President Clinton.