The Northern Secretary has said he will avoid suspending the Assembly if it is within his power. Dr John Reid said: "It is not my intention to do that and I have not been asked to do that."
With only days to go before the July 1st deadline for Mr David Trimble's threatened resignation as First Minister, talks between the parties are not set to resume until tomorrow at the earliest.
Dr Reid said: "I have spoken with the Prime Minister over the weekend and he has taken stock with the Taoiseach and others."
The most likely venue for this week's talks is believed to be Hillsborough Castle, Dr Reid's official residence in the North. If the talks appear to have some prospect of success, there are indications that the Taoiseach and British Prime Minister could become involved on Thursday or Friday.
Dr Reid said that even if Mr Trimble resigned, the option of suspending the Assembly was one he would try to avoid as he should be implementing the Belfast Agreement, not suspending it. "I cannot predict all the circumstances but if it's within my power I will avoid suspension," he said.
Mr Trimble said last night that the credibility of the political process in Northern Ireland hinged on what the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning had to say this week about its contacts with the IRA.
Emerging from a meeting with the head of the commission, Gen John de Chastelain, Mr Trimble said he wanted to hear from the British and Irish governments on what they intended to do if there was no sign of any advance.
"If at the end of this week the government receives a further report [from the commission] that there has been no progress and that whatever co-operation there was is not sufficient to achieve the slightest bit of progress in terms of this process, the challenge to the government is what are they going to do," he said.
"Because we feel that having reached, yet again, another deadline having been ignored, then there is a serious question as to the credibility of this process."
Mr Trimble said the UUP was disappointed that the commission had not been more proactive. "He [Gen de Chas telain], instead of being purely passive and reactive, should now take the initiative by requiring paramilitaries to act," Mr Trimble added.