This document records a phone call between John Holmes, private secretary to British Prime Minister John Major, and John Hume, leader of the SDLP [Social and Democratic Labour Party], that took place on 18 July 1996. Hume spoke about his conversation with Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Féin, from 16 July 1996, in which Adams had repeated that a statement from the British Government would encourage PIRA [Provisional Irish Republican Army] to announce a ceasefire. Any such statement by the Government would have to include elements that confirmed that the negotiations would be comprehensive and serious, that decommissioning would be tackled during the talks, and that they would promote confidence-building measures during the talks. Holmes expressed some scepticism about the possibility of a ceasefire, especially since Adams' letter to the Prime Minister did not mention anything regarding the statement. Holmes later spoke to Paddy Teahon, Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach, who urged him to consider organising a meeting between the British Government and Adams.
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