The Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister fly to Belfast on Monday in an attempt to break the deadlock over weapons. The peace process sustained another blow yesterday with a warning about a possible return to violence by the Ulster Volunteer Force.
The visit by the two government leaders was confirmed by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ms Liz O'Donnell, as she arrived at Stormont for a series of bilateral meetings with the political parties. Her aim was to "explore all the possibilities and start doing preparatory work" for Monday's visit.
"We have come an awful long way from this time last year and we now face the outstanding difficulty in relation to disarmament. I don't believe it is an impossible obstacle to overcome," Ms O'Donnell said.
Meanwhile, the Ulster Volunteer Force and the Red Hand Commando warned of a return to violence if the British and Irish governments tried to impose a settlement over the heads of unionists.
Mr David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party, which has links with the UVF and RHC, said the paramilitary groups had warned that the imposition of a settlement would result in a "UVF/RHC retreat from all theories of process - peace or political". The UVF and RHC have been on ceasefire since October 1994. Their warning came just before the PUP met Ms O'Donnell at Stormont.
"The UVF/RHC," Mr Ervine said, "cognisant of past experiences, namely the Anglo-Irish Agreement, are making the two governments aware of what will not be tolerated in the event of collapse.
"Any plans for the future of Northern Ireland should and must include the representatives of the unionist populace."
(The Red Hand Commando is not connected to the Red Hand Defenders, a dissident loyalist group, which is not on ceasefire.)
Responding to the UVF statement, Ms O'Donnell told BBC Newsline: "I think it's sad that at this stage in the process this statement indicates that there are real and genuine concerns amongst loyalism."
Mr Ervine said: "I share some sadness expressed by the Minister when she said that it was a pity that people were believing that the Good Friday agreement would not effectively deliver. We have been saying this from October, politically we have been struggling to see how a formula could be created that would see decommissioning and the creation of an executive.
"Without decommissioning, there would seem to be no executive and without an executive, the Good Friday agreement cannot last. Whatever may happen after the collapse of the Good Friday agreement, what must not happen is that the two governments forget that the people of Northern Ireland have a say in their own affairs."
In a statement, the SDLP's Mr Sean Farren proposed that paramilitaries indicate "an intent to commence decommissioning and a wish to clarify procedures and timetables".
At that point, Gen de Chastelain could report to both governments "as the Good Friday agreement requires, that progress was being made".
He added: "Such a signal could immediately break the current impasse and remove any excuse for further delay in establishing all of the political institutions, beginning with the executive and the North-South ministerial council. It would be a signal widely and enthusiastically welcomed."
Pointing out that British army patrols had been scaled back and some military installations demolished, Mr Farren asked: "Is it not, therefore, a logical expectation that reciprocal moves be made by republican and loyalist paramilitaries, in particular by a start to decommissioning?"
The Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, was accused of "running scared" by the deputy leader of the Democratic Unionists, Mr Peter Robinson, for refusing to meet a multi-party group representing parties opposed to the Belfast Agreement.
"Her office argued that all of the Secretary of State's meetings have been bilateral," Mr Robinson said, but he added that she had held several multi-party meetings with those who supported the agreement.
Meanwhile, Mr Martin Mc Guinness of Sinn Fein has accused the Ulster Unionist Party of engaging in "bad faith negotiations" with his party. He said the UUP had been engaged in "an indecent squabble" with the DUP over which would propose a motion to exclude Sinn Fein from the new Northern executive.