The newly appointed US ambassador to Britain has called on the IRA to back up its statement with actions.
On his first official visit to Northern Ireland yesterday, Robert Holmes Tuttle met local politicians and community leaders at a regeneration project in west Belfast, which has brought together both sides of the sectarian divide.
On the significance of the IRA's pledge to decommission, the ambassador said: "I think the president [George Bush] said it best. It is a great step forward and I am really proud of everything that has been done but now we have got to see the actions."
The Stewartstown Road regeneration committee was established to unite residents from the unionist Suffolk and nationalist Lenadoon estates, which are separated by a so-called peace-line.
The ambassador held private talks for almost an hour in the regeneration project's office.
Mr Tuttle, who is on the final day of a two-day visit, said he was very impressed by the initiative.
"What a terrific project and what I think is so important as a businessman, or I was a businessman before I became an ambassador, is that this is an economically viable project which is bringing together the two communities," he said.
Mr Tuttle added: "I am here to really learn and to listen . . . It's a part of my job as ambassador and I am going to go all over the United Kingdom and reach out.
Mr Tuttle was sworn in by US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice last month.
The father-of-two from California is a co-managing partner of one of the largest car dealers in the US.