The Sinn Fein senior negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, has urged the Ulster Unionist Party to reconsider its rejection of a blueprint aimed at finding a resolution to the decommissioning impasse proposed by Mr John Hume.
The SDLP leader's plan, the details of which had been privately presented to the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein, proposes Sinn Fein make a pledge to non-violence and agree to exclude itself from the new administration should the IRA return to violence.
According to Mr McGuinness last night, the UUP should give "very serious consideration" to the proposals. "I think that when they reflect on what has been suggested by John Hume, they should give it very careful consideration and should recognise whatever potential is in it to break the crisis."
The blueprint outlined by Mr Hume at the weekend appeared to have failed in its attempt to inject momentum into the process in the face of mounting opposition from Ulster Unionists, who branded the proposals "unworkable". The UUP demands a credible start to decommissioning before Sinn Fein's entry into an executive.
With today's resumption of talks at Stormont between the pro-agreement parties and officials from the two governments, the SDLP leader's proposal claims to offer a formula to overcome the deadlock.
Outlining his proposition on BBC Radio Ulster, Mr Hume said there was a guarantee in the Belfast Agreement that any party that abandoned non-violent means had expelled itself from government.
He said on Saturday: "If people feel the guarantee is not strong enough, I think we could get all parties, including Sinn Fein, to make a declaration that any party that abandons peaceful and democratic methods is expelling itself from the executive."
The UUP deputy leader, Mr John Taylor, dismissed the Hume plan as a failure to address the arms issue.
In an initial response, the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said the proposals may provide the basis for moving forward but rejected any suggestion the party accept self-exclusion. "It provides the basis for moving forward if David Trimble goes for it," he said.
Meanwhile, speaking in Philadelphia, the North's Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, said if the peace process in Northern Ireland collapses, Mr Trimble and Mr Adams would be to blame.