Sinn Fein negotiator Mr Mitchel McLaughlin has said people should consider whether republican and nationalist attitudes to weapons decommissioning might change if political progress is made in Northern Ireland.
Mr McLaughlin's comments, made to reporters in Dublin yesterday, are seen as reflecting a hope within Sinn Fein that the importance of the decommissioning issue may diminish once political institutions have been fully functioning in the North for a time.
He made his remarks in response to questions about comments reported as having been made by another key Sinn Fein figure, Mr Martin Ferris, in the US. Mr Ferris was reported in yesterday's Daily Telegraph as saying that once an executive is formed in the North, withdrawal from it by the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, on the grounds that no decommissioning had taken place, would be "political suicide".
He added that Mr Tony Blair was "even less likely to bring down the agreement because of a lack of decommissioning", according to the Telegraph.
A number of unionists yesterday strongly criticised Mr Ferris's reported remarks, which were made before the IRA issued its statement earlier this week. Mr Ferris was reported as saying he did not believe the IRA would decommission, that the conflict was not over and that an executive would have to continue even if no decommissioning took place.
Mr McLaughlin said yesterday Mr Ferris had "flatly denied" making some of the remarks attributed to him.
He said, however, that he might well have speculated, as reported, that a Northern Ireland executive and Assembly might continue even if IRA decommissioning did not take place.
He said those who were opposed to the Belfast Agreement were the people who had concentrated on the decommissioning issue "because they know it's an issue that could block progress". He said the Ulster Unionist Council "has consistently supported efforts to bring forward aspects of the Good Friday agreement, while the parliamentary party has consistently opposed such efforts."