President Clinton has expressed support for the decision by the Irish and British governments to expel Sinn Fein temporarily from the peace talks.
In a statement read by White House press secretary Mr Mike McCurry, the President also reaffirmed support for the Mitchell Principles and said that politics and violence could not mix.
The planned fund-raising and lobbying visit by the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, to the US next week has been one of the first casualties of the party's expulsion from the peace talks.
The Sinn Fein Office in Washington said Mr Adams's visit to Washington and New York next Tuesday and Wednesday had been "put off until March" when he is expected for the St Patrick's Day celebrations at the White House.
The cancellation of next week's visit will be a disappointment to Sinn Fein, which had been planning it for the past month. It would probably have included a meeting with President Clinton at the White House, although this had not been confirmed.
Observers here said that until the expulsion issue was raised, it was likely that President Clinton would have "dropped by" while Mr Adams was meeting national security officials at the White House.
But as a result of the temporary expulsion from the talks, it was unclear if Mr Adams would have even been received at the White House. He would probably have been able to meet members of the Ad-Hoc Committee for Irish Affairs on Capitol Hill, such as Republican Congressman Mr Peter King, who has said that it was important to keep contact with Sinn Fein during any suspension from the talks.
It is now assumed that Mr Adams will be invited with other Northern Ireland political leaders to the White House for the St Patrick's Day reception, as Sinn Fein will have been readmitted to the talks before then. Only parties taking an active part in the talks will be invited. This will exclude the DUP and the UKUP.
It remains to be seen whether Mr Adams's St Patrick's Day visit will include a planned fund-raising trip to New York.