The following is the text of a joint statement on the Northern talks issued by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair:
The Taoiseach, Mr Bertie Ahern TD, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair MP, have reviewed together the present situation and believe that it may be helpful to clarify their views as the talks resume. The two governments are committed to the documents they have signed, including the Downing Street Declaration, but believe they should, in particular, spell out their views on two crucial issues, consent and decommissioning.
Consent will be a guiding principle for them in the negotiations, from which no outcome is of course excluded or pre-determined.
Both governments reaffirm that the aim of the negotiations is to achieve a new and lasting agreement, addressing the totality of relationships, which commands the consent of both Unionists and Nationalists. They recall that a guiding principle for the process of negotiations, launched on 10 June, 1996, enshrined in the agreed rules of procedure and therefore binding on all participants is that any agreement in these negotiations must command sufficient consensus among the participants.
The two governments see the resolution of the decommissioning issue as an indispensable part of the process of negotiation, alongside other confidence-building measures for all sides. That is why they have passed the appropriate legislation in their respective jurisdictions and agreed to establish an Independent Commission simultaneously with the launch of substantive negotiations. Security experts in both jurisdictions have made preparations to brief the Commission, so that options for draft schemes for decommissioning, in conformity with the Mitchell Report and the Independent Commission's terms of reference, are available for their consideration and their discussion with all the participants from 15 September.
The two governments remain totally committed to their implementation of the Mitchell Report in all its aspects, and they look to all parties to work constructively and in good faith with them on this basis. Successful decommissioning will depend on the co-operation of the paramilitary organisations themselves and cannot, in practice, be imposed on them as a precondition for successful negotiation or as an absolute obligation. However, both governments would like to see the decommissioning of some paramilitary arms during the negotiations, as progress is made in the political talks, and believe this could be a major contribution to confidence-building and momentum towards agreement.