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Mr Blair: statement expected
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The British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair refused to make an immediate comment this evening on the news of IRA decommissioning, but said he would make a full statement later tonight.
Meanwhile, a Downing Street spokesman is reported as having said British army demilitarisation would begin "as quickly as possible" if the IRA were to announce they had fully decommissioned their weapons.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs called this morning for the British army to start demilitarising if the IRA response to yesterday's historic Sinn Fein statement was positive.
"Obviously if we have an act of decommissioning there has to be a security reassessment of the situation," Mr Brian Cowen told RTÉ radio.
"The need to proceed with demilitarisation is an important political imperative so people in those areas recognise that politics works," he said.
Asked if he expected the IRA to decommission, Mr Cowen said: "I am very hopeful that we can see progress in this issue. There has been progress for some time in relation to it.
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Mr Cowen: hopeful
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"I think the basic problem has been the lack of confidence between the two communities and their representatives".
Mr Cowen also responded to DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley, who has said he did not trust the independent decommissioning body as a mechanism for putting IRA weapons beyond use.
The Minister said the commission had the full confidence of the Irish, British and United States administrations.
"Unfortunately Dr Paisley has never supported the Agreement in full or in very many substantive respects," Mr Cowen said.