Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists are expected to hold direct talks at Stormont today. The meeting will be chaired by Senator George Mitchell, who is leading the review of the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
Although Mr Mitchell's official spokesman last night said no exact time or date had been set for the meeting, sources said it was likely to be today. The talks will centre on decommissioning and the formation of a power-sharing executive.
However, Sinn Fein yesterday did not appear optimistic about the chances of progress. The party was critical of the Ulster Unionists' decision to support a High Court challenge to Dr Mo Mowlam's decision that the Provisional IRA ceasefire was intact.
The Sinn Fein vice-president, Mr Pat Doherty, said the legal challenge was "part of the process of undermining" the Belfast Agreement. He said: "Since the Good Friday agreement was signed, unionism has prevented its implementation.
"The alliance of David Trimble and Jeffrey Donaldson, as well as developments over the summer, are evidence that `No' politics, the politics of intransigence, are dominating the UUP.
"Unionism is seeking to veto hope, veto the expectation for peace, and veto change. It must not succeed. Politics must be seen to work. That is the alternative to conflict that we are attempting to build. The responsibility for meeting the challenge presented by unionist inflexibility rests with the two governments but primarily the British government.
"The British Prime Minister once said the status quo is not an option. He must deliver on that rhetoric."
Meanwhile, the anti-agreement Northern Ireland Unionist Party claimed Mr Mitchell would attempt to convince the Ulster Unionists to allow Sinn Fein into an executive without prior decommissioning. The NIUP leader, Mr Cedric Wilson, warned the UUP against accepting any such plan.
"Unionism in general will not be able to stomach any proposal which would put Sinn Fein into government while the IRA remains fully armed," he said.
A spokesman for Mr Mitchell denied he had drawn up any proposals. "There is no formula on the table at this stage. After only two weeks of consultations, it would be surprising if there were," he said.
The former US senator yesterday met the Alliance Party, the Women's Coalition, the Progressive Unionist Party and the Ulster Democratic Party.