Reductions in the level of the British army presence in south Armagh are needed to show the good faith of the British government to demilitarisation, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, is understood to have told the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, on Saturday.
Sources say Mr Blair indicated a willingness to look at the issue. And British sources confirmed that Mr Blair is expected to visit the North this week to campaign in favour of the Belfast Agreement.
The two men met briefly before the European Summit to catch up on developments in the North and issued a joint statement appealing for support on both sides of the Border for the agreement.
Although the statement makes no reference to troop levels, Mr Ahern confirmed that the issue had been raised. With virtually no paramilitary incidents in the area in the last 12 months, he said, "it seems a bit extraordinary that we need the same level of military activity". He hoped to see the presence of the British army "toned down a bit", he said.
Responding to a question about whether he saw a link between decommissioning of weapons and prisoner releases, Mr Ahern said the agreement clearly debarred from the executive any group that has not shown a willingness to decommission.
But he warned against allowing any one issue once again "to become an obstacle to peace". In 1995 that had caused a whole year to be fruitlessly wasted. There was a need, however, for the paramilitary-linked groups to demonstrate their good faith by committing themselves to decommissioning when the agreement was in place.
"Weapons have to be taken out of the equation," he said. "First they have to be silenced, but if they are still there at all there is still a problem." It was essential in the medium term, he said, that they be removed entirely from the scene.
The joint statement emphasises that the agreement is "fair to both nationalist and unionist traditions and that it represents the best and only way forward after 30 years of conflict."
The leaders noted that the agreement had to be seen "as a single comprehensive package of many different elements which taken together require compromise on al sides". There could be no cherrypicking, Mr Ahern said. They urged all parties to view it in good faith.
