The Northern Ireland Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant has said his decision to ban the Orange Order's Drumcree march was in the best interests of peace.
He announced the decision on Friday after an agreement couldn't be reached between the Portadown District Lodge and the Garvaghy Road residents.
The dispute led to a stand-off between Orangemen and nationalist residents of the Garvaghy Road in Portadown lasting almost two weeks.
Sir Chris said he received advice from the the PSNI chief constable that allowing the procession to go ahead could lead to serious injury, disorder and wider unrest across Northern Ireland.
Speaking to BBC News NI, Sir Chris defended his decision after it was put to him that unionists believed it had undermined the rule of law.
"It's my job to try and make sure that we have a peaceful set of outcomes in Northern Ireland," he said. "I didn't come to this decision lightly."
He appealed for a lowering of political tensions.
"I really would urge everybody to stand down any rallies or gatherings that there may be. Nobody wants to wind this up any further.
"There's been, I would argue, too much winding up already over the last couple of weeks.
"It's easy to stir up a sectarian grievance, much more difficult to calm it down.
"But we will need to look at the long term establishment of trust ."
Sir Chris told BBC News NI that the original Parades Commission determination would remain in place, despite his decision to stop the parade.
"I've decided not to strike down the original determination that still stands in law.
"The Orange Order won that right," he continued.
"But I have decided nonetheless that the march should not go ahead, partly because of the significant disruption to community relations that it would represent, partly because of the way in which the police have advised me that it would have to proceed and could lead to significant unrest."
The Court of Appeal has reserved judgment on a legal challenge brought by Garvaghy Road residents against the decision to allow the march.
Sir Chris also outlined two possible compromises that had been discussed in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
One proposed compromise, he said, would have allowed the Orangemen to complete one final march along the Garvaghy Road, on the condition it would not apply to march the route again.
The other would have seen the group accept that it had won the right to march, but agree not to exercise that right.
Sir Chris said he believed an agreement had been close, but talks between the lodge and residents ultimately failed.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme, he defended his decision to stop the parade, saying he could not see how the procession could safely take place.
He also said Stormont's power-sharing institutions had proved more resilient than expected, despite concerns the dispute could lead to the collapse of the Northern Ireland Executive.
The stalemate has reopened what was once one of the most bitter parading dispute in Northern Ireland, with stand-offs in the mid-to-late 1990s accompanied by riots, roadblocks and killings.
For decades, the situation at Drumcree has settled into a relatively minor stand-off that no longer made headlines, however that changed when the Parades Commission ruled that the march, on Sunday 27 September, could go ahead with restrictions in place.
That parade did not happen and, after a series of talks between residents and Orangemen, the secretary of state has banned the procession.
Sir Chris said he had spent the last fortnight trying to reach a resolution between Garvaghy Road residents and the Portadown District Lodge, holding a series of negotiations at Hillsborough Castle.
"I thought we were very close to an agreement, but unfortunately that was tantalisingly difficult to achieve."
He explained that two possible compromises had been considered.
"One was what people called one done and dusted. In other words, they would do one march and never apply again."
"And another version was that they would accept that they had won the right, but they wouldn't exercise that right."
Sir Chris said neither proposal had secured agreement from both sides.
He said the Chief Constable Jon Boutcher had written to him requesting intervention under the Public Processions (Northern Ireland) Act 1998.
"But it seemed to me that the real threat was, precisely as the chief constable had outlined, I couldn't see how the procession could take place."
Sir Chris also said he believed the original determination by the Parades Commission to allow the march had been "legitimate".
The chief constable said last week that the consequences of police forcing an Orange Order march down the Garvaghy Road "could be catastrophic".
He had said while the PSNI's objective was to facilitate the determination, this could not be done "at all costs".
In his application to have Sir Chris review the ruling, Boutcher said that costs were a factor.
"I highlighted that the continuing costs and impact upon the PSNI were significant and in the context of our existing funding challenges could not be sustained indefinitely," he stated.
The PSNI has said the cost of policing the two-week stand-off has been about £5m, but warned that figure could rise.
During the policing operation, about 140 officers were drafted in from across the UK to help under mutual aid arrangements. They have now left Northern Ireland.
The dispute has also prompted a police investigation.
The First Minister Michelle O'Neill confirmed she had received a letter from police investigating protests over Drumcree.
On Thursday, police said they had begun issuing letters inviting people "reasonably suspected" of committing offences linked to the protests to interview.
Two weeks ago, the Parades Commission issued a determination saying that the Orange Order parade was to be allowed on the Garvaghy Road with restrictions in place.
That prompted a legal challenge from the Garvaghy Road Residents' Coalition which opposed the march.
The Court of Appeal is considering whether to allow a challenge to the Parades Commission's ruling, which has been lodged by residents.
