The Northern Ireland First Minister, Mr David Trimble, has said it is time for Sinn Fein and the IRA to follow the Ulster Unionists' example and take political risks. He said his party had already done all it could to ensure the survival of the peace process.
"If we don't have the actions necessary to maintain confidence in this process, then this process will go into abeyance, temporarily I hope," he said.
The UUP had taken a great risk by entering the Executive with Sinn Fein before an arms handover, but a republican response was now necessary.
The Sinn Fein chief whip, Mr Alex Maskey, denied his party had broken its promises and said Mr Trimble had "impaled himself on this hook". He had to face down his hardline opponents as Sinn Fein had done.
The DUP deputy leader, Mr Peter Robinson, said that in the event of no decommissioning Assembly members could put forward a motion seeking the exclusion of Sinn Fein from the Executive. He also called on Mr Trimble to resign.
The North's Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, said on Ulster Television that Sinn Fein and the Provisional IRA had not fulfilled their responsibility to "jump" with the Ulster Unionists, but suspending the Executive would not solve the decommissioning issue.