Mowlam: "I know that the road ahead will not be easy"

Sinn Fein Invited to Northern Ireland Talks

Mo Mowlam announces the Government's decision (Dur: 5'09")

The announcement, which was not unexpected, was made by the Northern Ireland Secretary Mo Mowlam at a press conference in Belfast. The decision means that the Government accepts that the IRA's ceasefire is genuine. "I am satisfied that there has been a cessation of IRA attacks," Dr Mowlam said.

The Northern Ireland Secretary declared: "I know that the road ahead will not be easy. There will be differing views around the table. However, I trust that there will now be a significant step forward when the substantive talks begin."

In the six weeks since the renewal of the IRA ceasefire, Dr Mowlam has consulted with her security advisors, who concluded that the ceasefire was genuine. She also held a preparatory meeting with Sinn Fein.

Dr Mowlam concluded: "I would like to reiterate the words of Tony Blair on his first visit to Northern Ireland as Prime Minister in May: `I am convinced that the time is right finally to put the past behind us and meet the deep thirst of the people of Northern Ireland for peace, normality and prosperity'."

Sinn Fein will now attend the preparatory session of the talks at Stormont on 9 September, where they will be asked to sign up to the six principles drawn up by US Senator George Mitchell. These are:

• Democratic and peaceful means of resolving political issues.
• Total disarmament of paramilitary organisations.
• Agreement that such disarmament must be verified to the satisfaction of an independent commission.
• Renunciation of the use of force in order to influence negotiations.
• To abide by the terms of an agreement reached during negotiations and to use only peaceful means to try to alter the agreement.
• To take effective steps to prevent killings and punishment beatings.

Martin McGuinness: a "wonderful opportunity"

Sinn Fein's chief negotiator Martin McGuinness said the decision had opened up the "most wonderful opportunity" for years. Mr McGuinness told a news conference: "The die, I think is now cast. The day is coming on September 15 when we must...put our analysis on the table and negotiate a comprehensive settlement to a conflict which has existed on this island for the last 80-odd years."

David Trimble outlines the Unionist response on the BBC

The pressure is now on the Ulster Unionists to decide whether they will take part in the negotiations. The Ulster Unionist Party has said that it will remain involved with the talks in some form, unlike the smaller Democratic Unionist Party and UK Unionist Party. But the Ulster Unionist leader, David Trimble, said he would not necessarily sit round a table with Sinn Fein negotiators who, he claimed, "all have blood on their hands".

The pressure is now on Unionist leaders like David Trimble

Ulster Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson said: "We will continue to put the Unionist position in the talks to the government and those parties we consider to be committed to exclusively peaceful means."

One option being considered is proximity talks, similar to those used to achieve the Dayton peace agreement for Bosnia, which would involve Unionist and Republican negotiators in separate rooms, with intermediaries going between them.

The Irish Government instantly welcomed Dr Mowlam's announcement. Speaking in Dublin, Foreign Secretary Ray Burke said the decision "opens up the unprecedented prospect of genuinely inclusive negotiations involving both governments and all the major Northern Ireland parties".