The meeting between the Taoiseach Mr Ahern and the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, has been branded a disappointment by the Sinn Fein President, Mr Gerry Adams.
"While I think the discussions have been positive, the reality is yesterday's meeting between the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister can only be called a disappointment," said Mr Adams.
"The most significant thing to yesterday's meeting was that Jamie Oliver cooked a lunch," he added, a reference to the meal prepared for the two leaders by a British celebrity chef.
At a news conference in Belfast this afternoon, Mr Adams said: "We are at a very crucial point in this process".
"We want this to work, it remains our conviction it will work, but if it is to work in this next short period, people in Downing Street have to pull their socks up."
Political sources in Belfast also expect Sinn Fein will at some stage join the north's policing board - a move which would be seen as a signal the IRA's long war against British rule was over for good.
All-party talks will continue in Belfast next week, given added urgency by the proximity of elections scheduled for May and the looming distraction of a possible war in Iraq.