Sinn Féin leader Mr Gerry Adams said today he could envisage a time when the peace process has advanced far enough for the IRA to disband.
But Mr Adams said in a speech responding to the suspension of the Stormont executive that the IRA would not respond to threats to disband.
"I want to see an end to all armed groups on this island. That has to be the aim of every thinking Republican," Mr Adams said to a special meeting of Sinn Féin in Monaghan.
"So if you ask me do I envisage a future without the IRA? The answer is obvious. The answer is yes," Mr Adams said in what was billed as his most considered response to a speech by Mr Blair last week in which he challenged the IRA to disarm.
Mr Adams said that while he did not speak for the IRA, he knew that it would not respond to such calls from Mr Blair or other leaders of the Protestant community in the north, such as former First Minister David Trimble whose threat to resign if the IRA did not disband put the power-sharing institutions on the road to suspension.
"The IRA is never going to disband in response to ultimatums from the British government, or David Trimble," Mr Adams said.
He reaffirmed Sinn Féin's support for the Belfast Agreementbut also said the party was not going to be bullied.
"Peace is possible - real and lasting and permanent - and a united, independent Ireland is ours if we want it badly enough, if we win support for that objective and if we are prepared to work hard to achieve it," he said.