Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams tonight called the IRA arms announcement a "huge, liberating leap forward".
Mr Adams said the move was "unprecedented and groundbreaking" and should unlock the entire peace process.
"At a time when there is international calamity in the world, this shows that matters can be resolved through politics."
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Mr Gerry described it as a "courageous initiative to save the peace process".
Mr Kelly said the move "can only be seen as further tangible evidence of the IRA's commitment to the peace process and should be responded to in that manner.
Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator Mr Martin McGuinness insisted IRA disarmament had nothing to do with international pressure following the September 11th terror attacks on America.
"That said, it was still our responsibility to continue with our work, to plot a steady course to have the Good Friday Agreement implemented," he said.
He was speaking from New York, where he has been meeting political leaders, including Senator Edward Kennedy.
The SDLP leader Mr John Hume said he regarded the IRA announcement as "a very welcome statement".
"I would like to see now a very positive response coming from David Trimble and the Ulster Unionists in order to ensure our institutions are back fully in place and that we are down to the real task for the future, which is working together for our common interests," he said.
Mr Hume's elected successor, Mr Mark Durkan, said unionists should welcome the statement and he hoped they would work with it.
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Mr David Ervine, a leading member of the Progressive Unionist Party - which is linked to the loyalist Ulster Volunteer Force - hailed the IRA statement as "seriously significant".
"It's incumbent upon us all to get on with the job of moving the process forward," he said, but added he had no evidence the UVF or Red Hand Commando were ready to reciprocate in any way.
The loyalist Ulster Defence Association said it would not hand over any weapons in response to the news.
However, Ulster Unionist MP Mr Jeffrey Donaldson claimed the IRA statement did not go far enough by providing clarity on whether the weapons had been put beyond use and, if so, how.
"We will need urgent answers from General de Chastelain about key questions such as: ‘Is this a one-off gesture by the IRA or is it a credible process leading to total disarmament set down in the remit of the independent commission?’"
He refused to say if the move would enable UUP ministers to return to the Northern Ireland executive.
"I think it would be wrong to make a judgment in advance of getting answers from the General."
Deputy DUP leader Mr Peter Robinson dismissed the IRA statement, insisting concrete evidence of disarmament was needed.