The IRA ceasefire and mutual confidence-building measures will head the agenda when Mr Gerry Adams holds his first meeting with the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, this week.
This will be the first encounter between Sinn Fein and a British minister since early 1996, shortly before the collapse of the IRA ceasefire. The meeting will be held at Stormont on Wednesday when Dr Mowlam will seek further assurances that this cessation is genuine.
Mr Adams will urge movement on issues such as the transfer and early release of prisoners. He will also seek renewed commitments that the talks will proceed as planned on September 15th and that decommissioning will not be a block to Sinn Fein's involvement.
Dr Mowlam said she would talk about the nature of the ceasefire, the importance of it holding and confidence-building measures "for both sides of the community".
"I will talk about where we are at, what our position is, what we expect, what we hope for the talks. I will give an outline of what we want to achieve," Dr Mowlam said in an interview in yesterday's Sunday Business Post. Mr Adams may also be asked to seek some voluntary gesture from the IRA on decommissioning.
Mr Paul Murphy, the political development minister, said at the weekend that the British and Irish governments expected decommissioning would "come alongside talks". With the ceasefire holding and the Ulster Unionist Party remaining at the talks, the political outlook was encouraging, he said.
Mr Jim Gibney, a Sinn Fein ardchomhairle member and senior strategist, said yesterday that republicans were entering an "important phase in Irish and British history" when they would "sit across the table from the British government and directly and with determination challenge their claim over this part of Ireland".
"This will be the first time since 1920 that a British government has faced such a prospect," he added.
Part of Sinn Fein's task at the talks would be to convince unionists that "the people of this island be allowed to exercise their right to self-determination".
Unionists had to be convinced they had nothing to fear from republicans.
Mr Gibney said unionists should not underestimate the profound nature of the IRA ceasefire which should be treated with the seriousness it deserved.
Meanwhile, the UUP, as part of its consultation programme ahead of the September 15th talks, has sought a meeting with Catholic church leaders.
One reason for the consultation is to gauge political opinion on whether the UUP should engage in inclusive talks with Sinn Fein.
Mr Dermot Nesbitt, a member of the UUP talks team, said his party hoped to meet all the main churches including the Catholic church.
The consultation was an attempt to hear as many views as possible on the political way forward while also presenting unionist opinions and concerns.
Mr Nesbitt said the current period was one where there were "certain difficulties but also certain opportunities".
The UUP has also requested meetings with the SDLP, Alliance, the DUP and UK Unionist Party, as well as business, trade union and community representatives.
Meanwhile, Mr Adams plans to travel to the US in the first week in September.
A Sinn Fein spokesman said Mr Adams had not yet applied for a visa but he was certain there would be no difficulty with the application.
