THE White House went to some lengths yesterday to deny it had endorsed Mr John Major's election proposal as an alternative route to all party talks on Northern Ireland. This followed a visit to Washington by Mr Gerry Adams.
A scheduled meeting between the Sinn Fein president and the National Security Adviser, Mr Anthony Lake, was upgraded to a working lunch and President Clinton joined them for 10 minutes after which officials released the first ever official photograph of the two together.
Mr Lake and a presidential adviser, Ms Nancy Soderberg, then took the unprecedented step of accompanying the Sinn Fein president to the waiting press outside the White House, to confirm they wanted to listen to Mr Adams, not to pressurise him to endorse the election idea.
Mr Lake told reporters: "We had very useful talks about how to move as quickly forward as possible to get into all party talks."
A White House statement quoted Mr Lake as saying he found the Mitchell report's recommendations on decommissioning "helpful" and "believes the other ideas should be urgently discussed in the political track of the twin track process."
The President "underscored the need for rapid progress to all party talks," and "encouraged all parties to remain committed to the search for peace and determined in its pursuit."
The statement did not mention elections, although after US officials met the North's political affairs minister, Mr Michael Ancram, on Tuesday the White House said it had urged the proposal for elections be discussed as part of the twin track process.
"It is not for us to endorse any specific ideas, but to discuss with the parties their idea of the ways forward," a senior administration official said.
"The notion that there was any effort to pressurise Adams on elections is absolutely false."
Mr Adams said: "This wasn't a meeting about pressure ... We agreed totally on the need to move to all party talks and we explored ways of doing that."
He said Senator Mitchell's report "to which I responded very positively, pointed an avenue to all party talks. Our view on John Major's proposition hasn't changed. Of course everyone has to be flexible in terms of moving the situation forward. At the same time John Major is the person who holds the key."
He added: "President Clinton has adopted a very even handed and balanced approach and that was obvious again at today's discussions. It was a friendly and constructive review of the peace process."
The meeting was an opportunity to explore ways and means of moving forwards, "but I think the White House recognises that it's a matter for the two governments and the parties to resolve these matters. I just want to stress the key strategic objective is for all party talks as soon as possible."
Having listened to all sides, the White House "would seek to move the situation on in an even handed and balanced way ... What the next step is in many ways over to Mr Major. Let's now try and meet the date set in that joint communique."
Earlier, Mr Adams briefed Democratic Senators Edward Kennedy and Christopher Dodd for an hour on Capitol Hill. Both expressed strong support for all party talks by the end of the month. "There cannot be an added precondition," Mr Kennedy said. Mr Dodd said: "It is the British who have to be nudged to give us a specific plan quickly.
Sources said Mr Adams acknowledged to Mr Lake that elections would have to play a role but that elections as a precondition were unacceptable. He also argued that the British have called it wrong on every occasion and "we wouldn't have a peace process if the Americans had not played it right, by listening to the friends of the peace process.
The Ad Hoc Committee on Irish Affairs and the Friends of Ireland in Congress wrote to Mr Major this week accusing him of erecting "yet another needless barrier" which would "harden divisions and stall the peace process."