Whoever wins the battle for supremacy in unionism in the UK election will still have to negotiate with Sinn Féin, Mr Gerry Adams said tonight.
As the parties prepared to formally nominate their Westminster candidates, the West Belfast MP said the Ulster Unionists and Democratic Unionists would still have to face republicans in talks to resolve problems with Belfast Agreement.
"On June 8th, the issues which need to have been resolved on June 7th [the date of elections] will still need to be resolved," he said.
"So to me it is a matter of dealing with what I call the objective reality of the situation.
"Whoever is in the ascendancy, whoever is in the British government, whoever is in the Irish government, the Good Friday Agreement was the template signed on by all of us and it needs to be delivered on.
"There may be some changes in the fortune of some of the parties. That may make it easier. That may make it more difficult but it hasn't been easy anyway.
"So let's face up to the reality that whatever happens in the election, you will still need a strengthened Sinn Féin party to be in there with others, being assertive, being magnanimous and hopefully being generous and imaginative as well in pushing ahead with what needs to be done."
As rival unionists continued to trade blows in the one of the bitterest election contests the province has ever seen, Mr Adams urged nationalists to swing behind his party in key constituencies like Fermanagh and South Tyrone.
PA