Nationalist politicians in the North are to meet next week to discuss a possible joint electoral strategy for the Westminster election. However, SDLP sources predicted that the meeting, proposed by Sinn Fein, would not lead to a pact.
They claimed Sinn Fein had no real interest in a pact and was only "going through the motions to look good in the eyes of the electorate". One SDLP source said: "If Sinn Fein was sincere about a joint strategy, they wouldn't be calling for an increased republican vote in constituencies already held by SDLP MPs."
The Sinn Fein chairman, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, announced yesterday he had received a letter from the SDLP chairman, Mr Alex Attwood, agreeing to electoral talks next Tuesday.
Mr McLaughlin, who is contesting Mr John Hume's Foyle seat, welcomed the meeting. "I wrote to the SDLP asking them to meet Sinn Fein to discuss a co-ordinated approach to maximising nationalist representation in the forthcoming election.
"I believe the vast majority of nationalists and republicans will welcome this initiative by Sinn Fein and the SDLP response to it and will be awaiting the outcome of Tuesday's discussions."
The SDLP and Sinn Fein have failed to forge electoral pacts in the past.
The SDLP currently holds three Westminster seats - Foyle, Newry and Armagh, and South Down; Sinn Fein holds two - West Belfast and Mid-Ulster.
Several unionist seats, including West Tyrone, Fermanagh and South Tyrone, and North Belfast, could fall to a nationalist candidate at the next election. The SDLP and Sinn Fein are contesting those constituencies amid fears that a split nationalist vote could enable unionists to retain the seats.
The battle for West Tyrone is particularly significant, with the North's Agriculture Minister, Ms Brid Rodgers, taking on the Sinn Fein vice-president, Mr Pat Doherty, and the sitting anti-agreement Ulster Unionist MP, Mr Willie Thompson.
Meanwhile, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has said the Provisional IRA's discussions with the international decommissioning body must lead to progress for the sake of the peace process.
Addressing the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra, Mr Cowen said he believed agreement was possible on policing before the summer. The talks involving the pro-agreement parties at Hillsborough Castle last week had provided greater clarity on how they needed to proceed.
Welcoming the Provisional IRA's latest move to re-engage with the decommissioning body, Mr Cowen insisted the discussions must "lead somewhere" and called for "early progress" towards an agreed way in which to put its arms completely and verifiably beyond use.
Once agreement was reached, the Government would play its full part in encouraging young nationalists to join the new police service.
Reacting to the SDLP's assertion that progress has been made on policing, the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, urged caution, saying the focus must be on securing the proper legislative changes to the Police Act.
"It is my view we will get the policing service that everybody deserves and desires but let us be cautious, let us play this properly and let us understand that there are huge forces of resistance to bringing about civic policing."