Northern Ireland's politicians need to stop focusing on pre-conditions and should concentrate instead on restoring devolution, Gerry Adams insisted tonight.
The Sinn Fein president was speaking before he addressed the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. He said the Rev Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionists should should stop coming up with endless lists of demands and respect other parties' mandates.
And he also dismissed claims that Northern Ireland police chief Sir Hugh Orde could to be invited to address a special Sinn Fein conference on the party's policing policy.
Two days after the Rev Ian Paisley called for the IRA to disband, Mr Adams said: "I just think everybody has to knuckle down and stay away from pre-conditions.
"We need to respect each other's mandates. "I disagree with Ian Paisley's views fundamentally but I respect his mandate. "I could set all sorts of pre-conditions and come up with a Sinn Fein wish-list. "However we have to set all of those matters to one side.
"We should all be focused on the fact that we have British ministers implementing policies which affect our constituents, who are unaccountable to our constituents.
"We have to ask what are we going to do about it?" Mr Adams also appeared to knock on the head a suggestion from PSNI Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde that he would go and address Sinn Fein members at a special conference on policing if he was invited.
"I would not even respond to that," the West Belfast MP said. "He is not a member of our party. "Anyone who comes to speak to us would have to be a decision by the party but it is certainly not an issue."
PA