Mr Gerry Adams has said everything will be up for negotiation when all-party talks begin next Tuesday, but the Ulster Unionist deputy leader, Mr John Taylor, insisted his party would not be discussing the Union.
Speaking at Stormont Castle yesterday, Mr Adams said: "Sinn Fein is satisfied that the issues which lie at the heart of this conflict - partition, the British claim of jurisdiction, discrimination and injustice - are all on the table for discussion.
"It will only be through honest dialogue on these matters, by actually tackling the causes of conflict, that a resolution will be achieved." The Sinn Fein president said that fundamental constitutional and political change, an equality ethos, and total demilitarisation were necessary.
However, addressing a meeting at Queen's University yesterday, Mr Taylor said: "The Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain will not be negotiated by the Ulster Unionist delegation, nor do I believe that the political representatives of the UVF or UDA at the talks would negotiate the Union.
"Since nothing can be agreed at the talks unless, in accordance with the rules of procedure, it is supported by those representing at least 50 per cent of pro-Union voters, there is a guarantee that unionism can ensure that Northern Ireland will remain within the UK."
Mr Taylor said all the unionist parties taking part in talks were doing so to secure the Union, and their job would be made easier if the DUP and Mr Bob McCartney's UK Unionists re-entered the process.
He outlined the UUP's `shopping list' of demands in Strand Two of the talks, which cover North-South links. Most important was the removal of Articles 2 and 3, but other changes were also necessary, he said.
"The South has got to learn that co-operation requires changes within the South to make it an acceptable partner. I would like to see the Republic ceasing its discrimination against non-Gaelic-speaking people from Northern Ireland. Compulsory Gaelic for appointments must be removed.
"People in the South who prefer British passports should have the same opportunity to get them as people in the North have to get Irish passports." Mr Taylor also called on the Republic to reconsider joining the Commonwealth "and following the fine example of President Mandela whom many Irish nationalists praise".
Meanwhile, the leader of the British Conservative Party, Mr William Hague, ended his two-day visit to Belfast yesterday. He visited Northern Telecom in Newtownabbey, Co Antrim, and met the SDLP Lord Mayor of Belfast, Mr Alban Maginness, at the new Waterfront Concert Hall. It was Mr Hague's first official visit to the North.