The IRA tonight offered to step up its efforts to resolve the Northern Ireland weapons issue comprehensively by engaging in more intense dialogue with the decommissioning body.
In a statement which will appear in tomorrow's edition of An Phoblacht, the provisional movement confirmed that its representative in talks with General John de Chastelain's decommissioning body was prepared to engage in more detailed discussions in a bid to move the Northern Ireland peace process forward.
"This dialogue is within the context of our commitment to deal satisfactorily with the question of arms," the statement said.
"It is with a view to accelerating progress towards the comprehensive resolution of this issue."
In its statement, the IRA said it had, in an unprecedented initiative on August 8th, agreed a scheme with the decommissioning body to put its weapons "completely and verifiably beyond use".
It said this was "another expression of our willingness to enhance the peace process and it involved considerable problems for us and for our organisation".
"The IRA leadership's ability to speedily and substantially progress the decision was completely undermined by the setting of further preconditions and the outright rejection of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning statement by the Ulster Unionist party leadership.
"Subsequent actions by the British government, including a continued failure to fulfil its commitments, removed the conditions necessary for progress."
The IRA said it was for these reasons it had withdrawn its proposal.
In light of the fresh offer by the IRA to engage more intensively with the de Chastelain Commission, the group said progress would be "directly influenced by the attitude of other parties to the peace process, including and especially the British government.
"The IRA's commitment is without question.
"However, as we have said before, peace making and peace keeping is a collective effort.
"It is our considered view that the Irish peace process can succeed.
"The continued failure or refusal to sustain the political process and to deliver real and meaningful change has a direct bearing on how this will be accomplished."
The IRA also broke its silence on the arrests of three Irishmen in Colombia last month on suspicion of training left-wing FARC rebels for travelling around the country on false passports.
The statement claimed there had been "a lot of ill-founded and mischievous speculation" about the arrests of Mr James Monaghan, Mr Martin McCauley and Mr Niall Connolly. The IRA also criticised "ill-considered and aggressive comment directed at our organisation.
"We wish to make it clear that the Army Council sent no one to Colombia to train or to engage in any military cooperation with any group.
"The IRA has not interfered in the internal affairs of Colombia and will not do so.
"The IRA is not a threat to the peace process in Ireland or in Colombia.
"The three men have asserted their support for the process and we accept that."
The IRA's distancing of itself from the Colombian arrests follows denials from Sinn Féin leaders that the three men were representing the party in South America.
Tonight's IRA statement surfaced just hours after a leading Ulster Unionist warned that his party might pull out of the Stormont power sharing executive if the Irish and British governments were to suspend Northern Ireland's political institutions for just one day in a bid to buy more time to strike a deal on the weapons issue.
Anti-Belfast Agreement Unionist Ulster MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson said his party would not tolerate a second one-day suspension of the institutions if the IRA failed to disarm by Saturday midnight.
Mr Donaldson told reporters: "The UUP will not be prepared to give any credibility to a further one-day suspension.
"There is no way we as a party can continue sitting in a power-sharing executive with representatives of a full time terrorist organisation engaging in international terrorism.
"After events in Colombia and the United States, the UUP must stand up for the democratic process and in the event of a one-day suspension must withdraw from that executive, denying the representatives of terror a place in government."
His comments were condemned by SDLP Agriculture Minister Ms Brid Rodgers.