Progress can be made on the remaining stumbling blocks in talks to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly, senior Democratic Unionist MP Mr Nigel Dodds insisted today.
As parties prepared for a new round of talks tomorrow at Stormont aimed at securing the return of devolution in Northern Ireland after two years, Mr Dodds said his party was waiting to see what the IRA was prepared to say and do over the coming days to move the process forward.
With the North's parties stalled on what level of accountability power sharing ministers should have in the Stormont Assembly, he also rejected claims that his party was only interested in re-establishing majority rule.
"The DUP is entering the discussions this week in a very constructive way to make progress," he said.
Democratic Unionist MP Mr Nigel Dodds on the talks to restore the NI Assembly
"There were four items on the agenda at Leeds Castle last week: - acts of completion on decommissioning; an ending of criminal and paramilitary activity; the transfer of policing and justice powers, and the operation of the institutions.
"Progress was made at Leeds Castle but there is still a lot of work to be done - most of which on the Strands One, Two and Three issues over the institutions.
"We want to make it clear the DUP is not in the business of shifting goalposts. It has always been our position that the issues of paramilitarism, decommissioning, the devolution of policing and justice and necessary changes to the Belfast Agreement would have to be addressed.
"The DUP doesn't think the differences need be that big and we refute allegations that we are seeking a return to majoritarianism.
As speculation mounted in Belfast that an IRA statement advancing the peace process is imminent, senior Ulster Unionist Mr Michael McGimpsey sounded a note of caution about what the Provisionals might do.
With the Reverend Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists also under pressure to compromise on its demands for changes to power sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland, the UUP Assembly member said: "The Leeds Castle talks were about the Prime Minister discovering whether republicans were up for doing what they should have done last October.
"That means making the IRA go away, making their arms go away and telling us the causes of the conflict are over.
"Mr Blair and Mr Ahern say they are satisfied with the responses at Leeds Castle but all this goes with a health warning.
"We have been here before. We have to be certain they are going to do this before we start talking about the sincerity of republicans."
Speaking after the talks in Leeds Castle on Saturday the DUP leader Mr Ian Paisley said he would not be "bluffed" by the IRA but indicated a willingness to test its sincerity.
He added: "I believe that a golden opportunity has been available to realise a stable and entirely peaceful future and I told the prime minister [Mr Blair]
that in some respects we have never been closer to solving the problems that have plagued us for decades."
Earlier today the Northern Ireland Secretary Mr Paul Murphy insisted it was wrong to claim last weekend's talks at Leeds Castle in Kent were a failure.
Mr Murphy said: "We did not fail, like some commentators have claimed. If that had happened, the parties would have said so. In fact, some of the parties would have been the first to say so. We simply ran out of time at Leeds Castle.
"We are on the right road and while there are a number of outstanding issues to be resolved, if we maintain the momentum over the next few weeks, it will be possible to achieve that."
As talks in Leeds Castle in Kent ended on Saturday, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said they believed a deal to restore power sharing was agonisingly close.
PA