Senator George Mitchell is to meet his officials at Stormont today to try to determine if his review and the Belfast Agreement can be rescued, after two weeks of talks in London which failed to break the political stalemate.
The London end of what Senator Mitchell has called the final phase of his initiative broke up yesterday afternoon with UUP and SDLP sources expressing frustration with what they view as political stalling by Sinn Fein.
The pro-agreement parties are due to meet at Castle Buildings, Stormont tomorrow in a last-ditch attempt to end the impasse over the formation of an executive and IRA decommissioning. The talks could run into Saturday and, if there is any prospect of a breakthrough, possibly continue next week.
Today in Belfast Mr Gerry Kelly, one of Sinn Fein's senior negotiators, is to brief Sinn Fein ardchomhairle and Assembly members on developments in London, while the UUP, the SDLP and the smaller parties, which were involved in yesterday's round of negotiations, will keep their members abreast of what is happening.
The main parties agreed that little or no progress was made in recent days. The parties have been observing a fairly strict news blackout, but there was no clouding the deepening sense of annoyance and frustration.
The two main protagonists, Sinn Fein and the UUP, have been holding to fixed positions, according to well-informed sources. In relation to the UUP demand for an IRA commitment to disarm, Sinn Fein insists it cannot speak for the paramilitary organisation, while Mr David Trimble in turn is reiterating that Sinn Fein's entry into government is dependent on "product", i.e. some actual decommissioning.
Sources say the problem with the negotiations to date is that despite the long hours of face-to-face meetings between Mr Gerry Adams and Mr Trimble, neither side has given any useful indication of what compromises, if any, they might or could make.
UUP and SDLP sources said that in the current climate the first move should come from Sinn Fein. That would at least test whether Mr Trimble could then soften his position on demanding an IRA commitment to disarm. The idea of a commitment is viewed by most republicans as tantamount to surrender.
If there is to be decommissioning it must be in the context of a voluntary gesture, according to republican sources. But the UUP is complaining that Mr Adams is not prepared to admit this is the crux of the problem for republicans. "How can you do business when Sinn Fein are not prepared put down anything on the table? Republicans, unless they are completely stupid, must recognise that we are ready and willing to do business, but we see no evidence that they are prepared to engage," said one UUP source.
An SDLP source said there were vague signs of possible movement from Sinn Fein, but so far nothing concrete was being offered. The SDLP has been trying to persuade Sinn Fein to acknowledge and go some way towards meeting the concerns of Mr Trimble, but so far, according to the source, "the talks were just going round and round".
"Intellectually, David Trimble and most of his senior Assembly colleagues may accept that with Sinn Fein in government the IRA would move on weapons but Trimble needs more than that: he needs something that would make sense at a meeting in Cullybackey Orange Hall," added the SDLP source.
Sinn Fein said it would "negotiate in the talks, not in public through the media". A party source said it would be pointless to comment on suggestions that Gen John de Chastelain might go over the head of the parties and seek to deal directly with the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries, or that Sinn Fein could be expelled from the Assembly if this review collapses.
While the UUP, SDLP, Alliance, the Progressive Unionist Party, and the other pro-agreement parties returned to Belfast yesterday, Mr Adams flew from London to New York for a fundraising function last night.
