Mr Tony Blair has said that over the coming days he expects political movement, particularly in relation to the creation of new North-South structures and in designating the number and type of ministerial departments that the Assembly executive will operate.
The British Prime Minister, following a day-long round of discussions with the main parties at Stormont yesterday, said it was possible to see how there could be agreement on North-South bodies and the number of ministerial departments. The more difficult issue of paramilitary disarmament and forming an executive was also "thrashed through", although Mr Blair gave no indication of any emerging agreement on these issues.
During the day differences of opinion over the urgency of creating political movement emerged between the North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, and the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon.
Mr Gerry Adams of Sinn Fein accused unionists of applying a veto to block progress, while the DUP and UK Unionist Party feared Mr Blair would capitulate to republicans.
The UK Unionist leader, Mr Robert McCartney, said he got the sense of Mr Blair being "a demented man".
Mr David Ervine of the Progressive Unionist Party suggested that a statement from the IRA pledging to disarm within the two-year deadline mentioned in the Belfast Agreement could help break the deadlock over decommissioning.
After the talks Mr Blair said the parties sensed the public frustration at the lack of progress on crucial elements of the Belfast Agreement.
"The public want us to get on with it. They are frustrated at the lack of progress. They want progress to be made, and I hope over the next few days some proper signs of that progress will be shown," he said.
"I will do everything I can to keep the momentum going forward, because I know that people out there are just desperate for this to work: they want the agreement, the whole agreement, and nothing but the agreement," he added.
Mr Blair said he accepted that all the parties to the agreement wanted to make it work. "But sometimes they may need that little bit of help, that pushing along the way, to make the progress that is necessary . . . I will carry on pushing this all the way. I am going to keep on this very, very hard indeed over these coming days to get this thing done, to push it forward again," he promised.
There was a degree of conflict, however, between Mr Trimble and Mr Mallon over the urgency of achieving progress.
Mr Mallon said he was very afraid of inertia setting in. He warned that unless there was movement in the next nine days there was a great danger of this process losing credibility. "There are decisions that should be taken no later than this week, and if that is not met then certainly no later than the following week. If the political process goes on indefinitely without making basic decisions there will be a problem," he said.
"I would have thought that anybody looking seriously at this matter would come to the conclusion that, yes, there is an urgency, and that political decisions have got to be made very speedily indeed. We are either going forward, or we are going backwards," Mr Mallon added.
Mr Trimble said in response that the creation of "artificial deadlines" would not assist the process.
"It is not helpful to generate a sense of crisis where none exists, nor is it helpful to create artificial deadlines. We are making progress, and it is important to focus on that progress, and I am confident that the matters can be resolved," he said.
He said there were always going to be "moments of tension" between all the parties. "This is not the normal cabinet administration. We have got to be grown up enough to realise that there are different parties with different perspectives. Particularly when an element of negotiation is taking place there will be times when differences exist," added Mr Trimble.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said he did not like to use the word "crisis" to define the current political situation, but it was extremely serious.
All the work was in place to allow the formation of an executive, the North-South ministerial council and the North-South implementation bodies. The "unionist veto" was the only obstacle to these being established. "It is an extremely serious situation if this process is allowed to drift," Mr Adams warned. He accused unionists of creating the impasse, and welcomed Mr Blair's concentration on "moving the agreement from rhetoric into reality".
He again insisted there was no requirement in the agreement for decommissioning before the creation of the executive and other bodies. "Mr Trimble signed up, conscious of what he was signing up to on Good Friday," said Mr Adams.
Mr David Ervine of the PUP suggested a possible way over the decommissioning hurdle.
He said that the SDLP pledge to act as guarantor of the agreement and seek Sinn Fein's expulsion from the executive if the IRA did not decommission within the two-year time-span envisaged in the agreement was one "building block" to that solution.
Unionists feared that Sinn Fein was seeking to make political gains while the IRA "hide in the bushes with their weapons intact". Were the IRA to make a statement pledging to disarm within the two years set down in the agreement that could move the process forward.
"I think if the IRA use language [sic], that could be a second building block. We all have a responsibility, including the IRA, to ensure that the Good Friday agreement is implemented in all its aspects," added Mr Ervine.
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said he was unable to obtain any assurances from Mr Blair that there must be decommissioning before Sinn Fein could enter an executive.
He had asked Mr Blair three times if he would allow Sinn Fein into an executive without IRA disarmament, "and three times he answered an entirely different question".
He accused Mr Blair of opening the door to eventual Irish unity. "It is quite clear the way he is going, and it bodes very ill for the people of Northern Ireland," said Dr Paisley.
"It is quite evident that there is no way in which the Prime Minister is going to stand up to IRA/Sinn Fein or to murderers."
Mr Robert McCartney, the UK Unionist Party leader, said he had received no answers to his questions about prior paramilitary disarmament and "punishment" assaults.
Neither did he receive any explanation as to why Mr Blair could "take such a macho attitude to Saddam Hussein, and yet on exactly the same principles he could take such a wimpish attitude to Sinn Fein/IRA, the UFF, the UVF and all other terrorist organisations".
He believed Mr Blair had no idea whatsoever on the way forward. "I get a sense of a very demented man who has not got a damn clue of what he is going to do next," added Mr McCartney. Mr Seamus Close, the deputy Alliance leader, said he had put forward ideas to Mr Blair, which he was not prepared to divulge, that he hoped might break the disarmament impasse. "We emphasised the fact that the vast majority of people demanded the full implementation of the agreement and would not forgive those who, for whatever excuse, failed to deliver," he added.
Ms Jane Morrice of the Women's Coalition said while there must be paramilitary disarmament an executive must be established as speedily as possible.
Before the political talks Mr Blair met RUC officers involved in policing the Drumcree standoff who were intimidated by loyalists. Mr Les Rodgers of the Police Federation said Mr Blair was shocked by what the officers had told him.
"I think he was touched by those who were there. I think he will reflect on the attacks on the wives and children while their husbands were away doing their job, which was particularly horrendous," said Mr Rodgers.
