Senator George Mitchell has said he remains optimistic about the success of the Northern Ireland peace process.
Speaking after receiving an honorary law degree at the University of Liverpool yesterday, he said decommissioning was "a very difficult, emotional and very important issue, but the political leaders must not let this chance of peace slip away after so much has happened and been done by the people, the governments and leaders. I believe there will be a way."
Earlier, he had delivered the university's Institute of Irish Studies annual peace lecture. He said the Northern Ireland peace process negotiations were the "longest and most difficult I have ever been involved in". He spoke about what he described as "the especially black and dangerous time" of Christmas 1997 and early 1998 when there was "a definite effort by men of violence on both sides to destroy the process".
Mr Mitchell said the turning point came when he made the decision to set a deadline for the talks. "I was conscious that the absence of a deadline guaranteed failure, although I accepted that the existence of a deadline could not guarantee peace but made it possible."
He said final agreement was reached after a massive effort by people on all sides. "The very fact that the agreement took such an effort was a warning sign of the difficulties that would follow in implementing the agreement.
"It is important to recognise that the agreement does not by itself guarantee peace and stability. It makes them a possibility but there will have to be a lot of effort in time to achieve those results."
He said decommissioning was vitally important and he believed perseverance in the face of violence was needed to bring things to a peaceful end.