THE 12-page Anglo-Irish document on decommissioning of paramilitary weapons proposes the setting up of an independent body to deal with the issue, diplomatic sources said last night.
This is in line with the Mitchell Report, which said: "The decommissioning process should take place to the satisfaction of an independent commission acceptable to all parties."
The independent commission would be appointed by the two governments after consultations with the other parties in the Stormont talks. However, it would operate independently of the governments.
The commission would report to a liaison sub-committee of the talks. The governments also acknowledge that decommissioning requires the full co-operation of paramilitaries. There would also be a sub-committee on confidence-building measures.
A key point in the document is that both London and Dublin acknowledge that their joint efforts to achieve progress on decommissioning should be pursued along-side political negotiations and without blocking the progress of those negotiations.
Senior political sources said the document was ambiguously worded and written in obscure language but there was nothing in it which would require the IRA to decommission weapons or explosives as a precondition for Sinn Fein entry to the Stormont talks.
The document is expected to be presented to the parties in the talks at Stormont this afternoon. The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, is due to discuss it this morning in separate meetings with the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, and the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume.
There were indications last night that the Ulster Unionists would remain immune from Mr Blair's powers of persuasion. The basic unionist requirement for "product before talks" is likely to remain.
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said last night there was "no substance whatsoever" to a statement issued by Downing Street that Mr Blair was meeting him today.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said his party would study the proposals very carefully. Sinn Fein had never stopped working to remove the "obstacles" erected by the previous British administration.
"I want to acknowledge that Mr Blair's government has adopted a different approach and that it has addressed, in varying degrees, the four issues which have been identified as essential to any meaningful negotiations and which Mr Major refused to address honestly," said Mr Adams.
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, confirmed the two governments had reached agreement. "I am pleased we have now developed a set of `possible conclusions' which we believe could win general support."
The release of the document is the latest development in the efforts to achieve an IRA cease fire. These efforts were renewed in London and Dublin after the election of the Labour government.
A previous document was presented to Sinn Fein on behalf of the British government the weekend before last. It was understood to have gone a considerable distance towards meeting the requirements posed by Sinn Fein to "empower" the party to seek another ceasefire from the IRA.