The IRA must give up all their weapons if the Ulster Unionist Party is to engage in power-sharing arrangements in Northern Ireland, according to Mr Jeffrey Donaldson. His warning comes amid heightening speculation that the IRA are ready to put a quantity of arms beyond use.
But Sinn Fein have countered saying the UUP must agree to all aspects of the Belfast Agreement if the IRA is to put weapons beyond use.
"All of the arms have to be dealt with, and if they are not dealt with to our satisfaction, within a reasonable timeframe, then we'll have to take action again. We have withdrawn our ministers twice, and we reserve the right to withdraw them again," Mr Donaldson said.
Despite republican denials that the IRA have decided to disarm, security sources in Northern Ireland believe the leadership is poised to make a significant move before the end of the month.
They claim two dumps will either be sealed off, or the weapons removed and decommissioned.
Republicans today denied reports that an IRA army convention is being planned for this weekend to give the go-ahead for decommissioning. One source described the reports as "crazy".
Earlier, Sinn Fein’s Mr Martin McGuinness said the British Government must "fulfil the commitments they have made". He added that the Ulster Unionists’ "attacking stance on the issue of arms has not furthered the task of getting all armed groups to face up to the need of putting arms beyond use."
PA