THE setting of a date for Sinn Fein's entry into all party talks is the main issue still outstanding between the republican movement and the British government.
Nationalist sources in the peace process have confirmed that there has been a de facto IRA ceasefire since the wounding of a woman RUC officer in Derry on April 10th.
The current absence of IRA activity is considered helpful by the British government and has helped to facilitate this week's meeting between Sinn Fein and senior civil servants at Stormont Castle.
However, the British side is refusing to take the de facto ceasefire into account in deciding whether the republican movement has definitively set its face against violence.
London is still sticking by its position that an unequivocal ceasefire must be demonstrated in "words and deeds". There must be "a clear announcement which reflects a genuine intention to end violence for good, without conditions or let out clauses". An end to surveillance, targeting and the movement of weapons would also be considered important indicators of the IRA's intentions.
The climate between Sinn Fein and the British government has improved significantly with the departure of the Conservatives. The new British administration has given indications of its intention to carry out a range of confidence building measures which are expected to include a reopening of the inquiry into the Bloody Sunday shootings of 1972.
London has also indicated that the decommissioning issue will not be allowed to block Sinn Fein's entry to substantive negotiations.
Relations between Sinn Fein and Dublin have also improved.
The impending visit by President Clinton to London has helped in focusing the attention of the Labour government on the peace process.
The White House is said to be eager to assist in bringing all the Northern Ireland parties to the table. Senator Edward Kennedy's meeting today in Washington with the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, is expected to discuss ways of removing obstacles to progress.
The peace process is expected to form part of the discussions between President Clinton and the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, when they meet on Thursday. There is speculation that there may be a role for Mr George Mitchell, as chairman of the Stormont talks, in helping to break the impasse on the entry date for Sinn Fein.
Writing in The Irish Times this week, the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams MP, called on the British government to state clearly that his party would gain immediate entry to the talks following an IRA ceasefire.
The reluctance of the British government to agree to this demand is said to be motivated in part by nervousness over the likely reaction of the Ulster Unionist Party.
The benign response from the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, to Mr Blair's speech in Belfast has been greatly welcomed at the highest level in Northern Ireland Office.