THE British government does not believe there is "anything in the statement" by the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, that an unequivocal restoration of the IRA ceasefire is on offer if it responds with confidence building measures.
"The ball is still very much in Sinn Fein's court," a government spokeswoman said yesterday "What we need is a ceasefire, not an article."
The response followed an article in The Irish Times on Saturday, in which Mr Adams stated that an unequivocal restoration of the IRA ceasefire would "represent the most important confidence building initiative on the IRA's part."
Downing Street said: ". . . the government has always said it wants to see inclusive talks. Sinn Fein's entry into that is dependent on them calling a ceasefire, but we don't see anything new from the article.