THE British Prime Minister, Mr Major, has said he "will not wait for too long" before deciding whether any new IRA ceasefire "is going to be sustainable".
Speaking ahead of today's AngloIrish summit in London, Mr Major said intelligence reports, and not passage of time, would determine his judgment, and thus the timing of Sinn Fein's entry into talks.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, will be pressing for a compromise between Sinn Fein's demand for automatic entry into talks following a second ceasefire and the British insistence on time in which to judge the IRA by "words and deeds".
But British sources last night denied Mr Major's words were intended as a signal to the IRA, or that they betrayed any weakening of the British government's terms. And those denials appeared to be underlined by Mr Major's assertion that he was "betrayed" over the first IRA cessation, and his insistence that "I'm not going down a fake path again".
The Sinn Fein leader, Mr Gerry Adams, last night accused Mr Major of engaging" in PR tactics. "There is nothing new or positive in his remarks," he said.
Mr Adams added that Mr Major's reliance on intelligence reports was "not likely to create much confidence in his commitment [to the peace process] given the dirty tricks and collusion record of these agencies".
In a BBC interview dominated by Mr Major's political crisis over Europe, the Prime Minister said he was not optimistic about a second ceasefire although he "couldn't rule it out either".
But Mr Major said he did not wish to see "a phoney ceasefire - a ceasefire simply to score public relations victories, and to try and have Sinn Fein parachuted into the talks without actually giving up the violence which has sustained the IRA for so long".
The prime minister continued: "In retrospect we had a phoney ceasefire. We thought we had a real one ... and we subsequently found out within days of declaring the ceasefire Sinn Fein IRA were filling garages in London with Semtex and explosives."
Mr Major said: "Yes, I would like a ceasefire. Yes, I would like it to be genuine. Yes, I would like it to be monitored so we can see it's genuine."
He went on: "And when I am satisfied there is such a ceasefire, a genuine ceasefire, and that it looks as though it is going to be sustainable - and I will not wait for too long to see if it is to be sustainable - then I will be as firm an advocate for the entry of Sinn Fein into inclusive talks as would Sinn Fein be themselves."
Asked how long he would take to be persuaded, Mr Major said: "I will not wait too long to see if it is to be sustainable ... I am not going to give you a time. It depends on actions, not on the passage of a few days or weeks."
Mr Major defended his decision much criticised by Dublin - to publish a statement of his position 12 days ago. "If I had not published our position, in the conspiracy atmosphere that so often exists in Northern Ireland politics, many people would have feared, that we were doing a backstairs deal with Sinn Fein and the IRA", he said.
Mr Reg Empey, vice president of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), warned that any attempt to bring Sinn Fein quickly into talks in the event of an IRA ceasefire would fail. "A proper period of time will be required to judge compliance, and a few weeks will not do," he said at the weekend.
. Deaglan de Breadun, Political Reporter writes: In the discussion today, the Taoiseach and Tanaiste are expected to remonstrate with Mr Major over the latter's decision to publish the statement of his position 12 days ago.
Informed sources said Dublin was not hopeful of any breakthrough, but it is the Government's position that attempts to bring about peace and reconciliation in the North are far too important to be influenced by domestic political factors in Britain, such as Mr Major's difficult situation in the House of Commons.