Sinn Fein is the fastest growing party on the island of Ireland.
Quite simply, I maintained contact with Sinn Fein and believed that there had to be a political, not a military, solution to the situation in Northern Ireland.
In the 19th century, we didn't much like the loud annexationist voices south of the border or American support for Sinn Fein adventurers who thought, by seizing the Canadian colonies, they could force Britain out of Ireland.
The reality is that when Sinn Fein gets into these talks, there will be no more options for armed republicanism, for the IRA.
I'm not going to be known as the Sinn Fein Minister who did the bidding of a Tory administration which is focused on decimating the welfare state.
We are not going into government with Sinn Fein.
Sinn Fein will not do Tory austerity.
Sinn Fein say, "The British government are buggers".
Part of my mission, if I have that opportunity as leader, is to take Sinn Fein on.
But the fact is that the vast majority of Republicans support the Sinn Fein leadership.
Sinn Fein has the potential and capacity to become the vehicle for the attainment of republican objectives.
Along with that ongoing process Sinn Fein took a decision to establish a peace commission which had the responsibility to travel around the country to receive submissions from the general public, also our opponents.
One of the things the United States does well is building coalitions. What the U.S. knows is that if you don't have a coalition with you, you will have a coalition against you. I don't want to see China and Russia on the side of Iran more strongly than they are.
The most important thing to say is that Sinn Fein isn't going back to anything. We are a party on the move.
The British government says that for Sinn Fein to be involved in talks the guns must be left at the door.
On a number of occasions, I have made it clear that Sinn Fein policy was to argue for the establishment of an independent, international truth commission.