THE biggest stumbling block to political negotiations in the North remains decommissioning, Mr Gerry Adams has said. He was responding to remarks by the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, that a moment of decision on the peace process was fast approaching for Sinn Fein.
Mr Blair said republicans would soon be forced to decide whether they wanted to be part of a process which would lead to a lasting settlement.
However, the Sinn Fein president said the obstacle of decommissioning, put in place by the last British government, had still not been removed.
"Our party is totally focused on creating a dynamic of credible talks processes. This is a shared responsibility. It means removing the obstacles created by the last British government.
"To do this, absolute clarity is required, especially on decommissioning. Decommissioning has not yet been removed as an obstacle in the negotiations. This remains the biggest stumbling block."
Sinn Fein had placed no preconditions for its entry into talks and should be there anyway on the same basis as other parties with a democratic mandate.
Mr Adams said Mr Blair had the capacity and the responsibility to create a real peace process, as did Sinn Fein, the Government and other political leaders.