The Rev Ian Paisley again stole the headlines at Stormont yesterday when at a confused press conference he suggested that the DUP would not share power with Sinn Féin even were the IRA to disband and decommission.
The DUP leader surprisingly turned up to deliver a solo press conference.
He did this after a news conference given by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, and the Northern Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy, in Parliament Buildings, Stormont, yesterday.
Appearing to toughen the DUP stance regarding engagement with Sinn Féin, Dr Paisley said: "The IRA must be finished with, once and for all, and that Sinn Féin must be a new party that is not tied [to the IRA]," he told reporters.
"They must be out of that, and there must be a new political deal."
He was asked if he would talk face to face with the Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, were the IRA to disarm.
"Not as a Sinn Féiner," he replied.
"Sinn Féin is inextricably bound up with the IRA, and that relationship must be smashed and gone for ever."
Pressed to clarify, he said: "There is another party like that, the Workers' Party, the old IRA," - possibly suggesting that Sinn Féin, like the old Sinn Féin The Workers' Party, which transmuted into the Workers' Party and later divided into Democratic Left and the Workers' Party, must adopt a new political persona or name.
Dr Paisley said repeatedly the DUP would hold Mr Tony Blair to promises concerning IRA decommissioning and disbandment.
"Every nail I can find I will put through his hide until he keeps that promise," he added.
His remarks followed an upbeat appraisal by Mr Cowen and Mr Murphy about preparations for talks at Leeds Castle, Kent, in just over two weeks.
Mr Cowen said: "There is the prospect of a deal being done if the will is there to be demonstrated and if the issues are addressed to everyone's satisfaction."
He said the governments were "considering changes which can improve the operation of the agreement - not anything which will undermine its fundamentals".
Asked how trust could be fostered in the two weeks between now and the Leeds Castle talks, Mr Cowen said confidence between the parties would grow when outstanding issues were dealt with to everyone's satisfaction.
Mr Murphy delivered a "work in progress" assessment of the governments' talks with the parties.
"We have reached the point of decision," he said. "We don't underestimate the scale of the task ahead of us. . . But no one should underestimate our determination to get that deal."
The intervening time would prove "vital, very important" and "crucial".
Officials at Stormont tried to play down the significance of the DUP leader's remarks but they will have caused concern at a time when the British and Irish governments are anxious to avoid any volatile comments that could upset the chances of this month's negotiations concluding successfully.
They may also cause concern within the DUP because his comments appear at odds with those of his colleagues, Mr Peter Robinson and Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, who this summer said they would share power with Sinn Féin if the IRA disarmed and went out of business.
This was the second consecutive day that the DUP leader captured the political limelight.
Dr Paisley had delivered another typically forceful press conference at Stormont on Wednesday.
The Ulster Unionists and the SDLP were sharply critical of the DUP leader's remarks on Wednesday. Sir Reg Empey accused him of further damaging the North's image and taking politics back to the Dark Ages. Mr Mark Durkan said the remarks by Dr Paisley over two days were offensive and farcical.