The Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr John Reid, today called on all sides in the peace process to work together or risk "falling into the abyss".
Dr Reid was speaking amid warnings that First Minister Mr David Trimble's threat to resign if paramilitary arms are not decommissioned by July could kill off the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Trimble told the Northern Ireland Assembly yesterday he had tabled a backdated letter of resignation in the opening salvo of what promises to be a tight general election campaign in the North.
Praising Mr Trimble's "immense" contribution to the peace process, Dr Reid said he would "regret it very much" if he stepped away from it.
During Northern Ireland questions in the House of Commons he said: "I can think of no aspect of the agreement which would reassure the unionist community more than some progress on decommissioning.
"If we are to move forward in this peace process then we all need to move forward together.
"It cannot be done by one side attempting to win a victory over some other side because defeat for one side means a defeat for everybody.
"We all have to move forward together or quite frankly we will all fall back into the abyss together," Dr Reid said.
PA