SENATOR George Mitchell yesterday encouraged the Ulster Unionist Party to move towards all party negotiations, despite the end of the IRA ceasefire.
Mr Mitchell said he did not specifically endorse elections, the UUP's preferred option, and that it was up to the parties themselves to decide how to go forward.
The former Senate Majority leader said it would be easy for Americans to despair after the breakdown in the ceasefire.
However, in an interview with The Irish Times, he emphasised that the parties in the peace process had no alternative but to redouble their efforts to get to all party negotiations.
Mr Mitchell said he had no plans to meet Mr John Major when in London next week, as some reports had speculated, unless the British Prime Minister asked to see him. However, Mr Mitchell remains engaged in the political process following his January 22nd report on arms decommissioning.
Last week he had talks with Sinn Fein leader Mr Gerry Adams and yesterday met the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, accompanied by Mr Ken Maginnis MP and party secretary, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson.
After the meeting, Mr Trimble said "Our view is, shared by Senator Mitchell, that we should continue with the progress that was taking place last week towards elections."
However, Mr Mitchell said "I didn't endorse the election option," explaining "The United States should not inject itself into the negotiations." The urgent goal was all party negotiations and the parties should discuss among themselves the way to achieve that," he said.
Regarding the IRA bombing, Mr Mitchell said Obviously it makes an already difficult situation more difficult, but there is no alternative other than to ask everyone to redouble their efforts to try to get all party negotiations.
"It would be easy for the Americans to surrender to despair and to wring our hands We have to encourage the parties to grasp every opportunity.
He said he had encouraged the unionist group "not to turn away from the peace process but to redouble their efforts. It would be compounding the tragedy to let the peace process die in the rubble of bombed buildings in London," he said.
Mr Mitchell, who is President Clinton's economic adviser on Ireland, said he supported the President's strong condemnation of the bombing and shared his view that it was important to make progress towards all party negotiations.
Asked about his prediction a week ago that the IRA might fracture and return to violence, he said the ceasefire had been declared in the expectation that all party negotiations would follow immediately.
"It seems evident based on what I was told and learned that the ceasefire itself was not the product of a unanimous decision," he said. "There was an element of disagreement. As the expectations were not realised, more and more people came to question the wisdom and appropriateness of the original decision."
Mr Trimble said after meeting Mr Mitchell that by choosing violence "Sinn Fein IRA has put themselves out of court. There can be no question of continuing a process that involves Sinn Fein IRA while violence continues," he said. It was now more urgent than before to have elections.
The question was whether, when and how they could have a genuine peace which would enable the political progress that had been taking place to continue, and what role Sinn Fein could play in that process depended on itself.
"While they are engaged in violence their role will be very much as the pariahs of the political process, Mr Trimble said.
"Our view after Friday is that it is even more important to have elections as you can't have the political process vetoed by terrorists.
"The people of Northern Ireland will now need the opportunity to express their judgment on the return to violence. I think that it would be extremely fruitful if Sinn Fein IRA discovered what the people of Northern Ireland as a whole, and the people they regard as their own in particular, thought about the return to violence.