Members of the Ulster Unionist Party have asked their leader, Mr David Trimble, to receive clarification from the British government on the precise meaning of the Hillsborough declaration.
At a meeting on Saturday, party officers and some MPs requested Mr Trimble to reject any suggested link between British army demilitarisation and the decommissioning of paramilitary arms as proposed by the "day of reconciliation" set out in the declaration.
Mr Trimble is "well aware that a credible start to IRA decommissioning must be made before Sinn Fein can join an executive", according to UUP honorary secretary Mr Jeffry Donaldson, who opposed the Belfast Agreement.
However, other senior party officers remained tight-lipped on the outcome of the meeting. Sir Reg Empey told The Irish Times yesterday that the party intended to "reserve its position" on the declaration.
The meeting was one of many informal consultations the party would hold before talks resumed between the pro-agreement parties on April 13th, said Sir Reg. The 100-strong party executive would not be convened, he added.
The UUP security spokesman, Mr Ken Maginnis, said the declaration had successfully established paramilitary decommissioning as an obligation prior to Sinn Fein obtaining seats in an executive.
Speaking on Radio Ulster's In- side Politics programme, Mr Maginnis said the term, "some arms put beyond use" - used in the declaration to describe the proposed act of decommissioning - was acceptable.
There would be no shadow executive until the arms handover occurred as verified by the International Body on Decommissioning, he added.
Mr Nigel Dodds, of the Democratic Unionist Party, said the declaration was like "candy floss, sugary and sweet" but contained no substance. He said any act of decommissioning did not equate to an ongoing programme of disarmament on the part of the paramilitary organisations.
"It is clear now that the Ulster Unionist party is signed up to it despite the growing discontent within their own ranks about the terms of it," he said.
According to Mr Dodds there will be a shadow executive set up, "in effect". The drafting of new initial draft standing orders for the Assembly will "try to change the title of these shadow ministers"
An SDLP Assembly member, Mr Mark Durkan, said that between now and April 13th should be used to build up sufficient convergence between the parties.