IN seeking firm indications from the British and Irish governments regarding decommissioning measures, the UUP was actually opening the door for movement into substantive talks, Mr David Trimble claimed at the weekend.
The UUP leader said that if suitable commitments were given by the governments it was possible that the three stranded negotiations could be started with the present parties to the inter party talks prior to the enactment of the enabling legislation.
Addressing the annual conference of the Ulster Young Unionists in Belfast Mr Trimble said this put the key of the door to substantive talks into the hands of the governments, if they were prepared to proceed with the present parties.
He listed again the undertakings demanded of the governments in the UUP paper on decommissioning published at the beginning of last week.
He said this had refined and defined the issue of decommissioning, and identified what needed to be done at the present stage: "the enactment of the enabling legislation, the Verification Commission, the Decommissioning Scheme, and what needs to be done later, in terms of the procedures to be followed if and when Sinn Fein enters the process."
"We have been accused of raising the hurdle, moving the goalposts, and of turning the back to reinsert the requirement of decommissioning prior to talks called Washington Three from a speech by the Secretary of State. But these criticisms are without foundation," Mr Trimble said.
However, he repeated that Sinn Fein must move to show it was committed to peaceful means before entering talks: otherwise the search for peace would go on without that party.
Opening the Young Unionists conference, Councillor Nelson McCausland said it was now incumbent on the SDLP to demonstrate to unionists that they were ready to do serious business.
He alleged that there was "a constant effort, via the media, to brainwash our people to think in terms of a one island identity".
Dublin, Mr McCausland said, "is more interested in stopping Orangemen marching than in stopping IRA men murdering".
The conference voted in favour of an end to all council powersharing arrangements with the SDLP because of the Derry City Council row involving the UUP mayor of that city, Mr Richard Dallas.
The motion condemned the SDLP for its treatment of Mr Dallas and called on all unionist controlled councils to cut links with Derry. The motion said there should be no contact with the Derry City Council until Mr Dallas is given back the mayoral privileges removed from him.
Meanwhile, the Church of Ireland Primate, Archbishop Robin Eames, warned yesterday that time was running out for politicians seeking a peace settlement. He said in a BBC interview that a new IRA ceasefire would be the single most important step towards the building up of trust.