The Ulster Unionist Party last night accused the IRA of using a veiled threat in its statement and said it confirmed its doubts about republican commitment to non-violence.
A senior UUP negotiator and Belfast Assembly member, Sir Reg Empey, said the IRA statement was a "thinly veiled threat concerning unionist doubts about their commitment to democratic politics. This outburst is borne out of frustration at their failure to provoke the Orange Order this summer and their failure to face down the Ulster Unionist Party last week."
Sir Reg said the international decommissioning body chaired by Gen John de Chastelain had been waiting for a start to disarmament for 14 months. All other parts of the agreement were in various stages of implementation except decommissioning.
"Instead of whingeing, the IRA should get on with honouring its obligations to disarm," he said, adding that it was ironic that the IRA could make a statement now while it remained silent in the two weeks after the British prime minister's disarmament proposals.
The Democratic Unionist Party deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, said the IRA was attempting to put a gun to the prime minister's head to gain more concessions. He said there was a clear threat of a return to violence if the IRA did not get what it wanted.
"This is a threat from the IRA which shows that they are not committed to exclusively peaceful and democratic means and are not committed to the end of violence . . . they are going back to what they do best," Mr Robinson said.
The SDLP negotiator, Mr Sean Farren, said the most positive element of the IRA statement was that its ceasefire was being maintained. He said: "It is the responsibility of politicians in pro-agreement parties to create the conditions in which all aspects of the Good Friday agreement are implemented, including setting up a multi-party executive and progress on decommissioning."
A spokesman for the Ulster Democratic Party, Mr David Adams, said the statement at first glance did not sound like a positive contribution to the present situation and could only be designed to "heap more pressure on the process".
Sinn Fein leaders made no comment about the IRA statement. A senior source said: "We are not going to interpret their statement, we will leave that to others."
The Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, said the statement was "an open challenge to the Sinn Fein leadership's line".