The issue of IRA disarmament will only be resolved if it is treated as an objective of the peace process and not a precondition, Sinn Fein leader Mr Gerry Adams insisted tonight.
In a hard-hitting speech in a lecture hall in Westminster assessing the state of the peace process, the West Belfast MP, taking a break from the Weston Park talks, criticised Mr Tony Blair and the British Government for "making all other issues secondary to the issue of IRA arms".
He said if the guns were to be taken out of Irish politics, the British Government must not "make the democratic rights and entitlements of nationalists and republicans" conditional.
Stressing his view that Mr David Trimble's resignation as Northern Ireland First Minister was counterproductive to agreement, Mr Adams claimed it was a "huge mistake" for the UUP leader to claim that neither he nor the British Prime Minister had a pivotal role on the arms issue.
"If the issue of arms is to be dealt with effectively the unionists and the British Government need to get real," the Sinn Fein president argued.
"They need to work in good faith with us and all of the other participants. They need to return to the Good Friday Agreement.
"If they genuinely want to take guns out of Irish politics, they need to understand that the arms issue can only be resolved as part of a genuine conflict resolution process.
"This means it has to be dealt with as an objective of the peace process and not as a precondition to the political process," he said.
PA