The fundamentals of the Belfast Agreement are sound and not subject to renegotiation, Northern Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy has said.
Speaking in a Reuters interview, Mr Murphy said the Assembly election results should not be seen as a vote against the Belfast Agreement.
"There is still a very large percentage of people in Northern Ireland who did vote for pro-agreement parties," Mr Murphy said.
"I don't think this is a great clarion call from everybody in Northern Ireland to see a huge change in how we operate."
He said he remained hopeful that devolution can be restored, despite predictions from analysts that direct rule could continue for years after the electorate made the anti-Agreement DUP the largest party in the North.
"I want direct rule to end as quickly as possible," he said.
"I love being in Northern Ireland, my other job, which involves security and politics here, I hope I will be doing for some time, but the sooner I can give back the main functions of government, like health and education, the better."
While London and Dublin have indicated the scheduled review of the workings of the power-sharing structures set up in 1998 will begin in January, Mr Murphy insisted the bedrock of the Belfast Agreement is not up for re-negotiation.
"The fundamentals still come back to the principle of consent, and the fact you can only ever have an accommodation in Northern Ireland if you've got nationalists and unionists agreeing," he said.
"I work on the basis they all want devolution, it's going to be much more difficult than it would have been with other parties, but nevertheless we've got to try."