The British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, flies into Belfast this morning to show solidarity with the First Minister, Mr David Trimble, ahead of Saturday's Ulster Unionist Council meeting.
However, today's most decisive event could be a face-to-face meeting between Mr Trimble and Mr Jeffrey Donaldson MP, to see if they can agree a composite motion and avoid a showdown.
British sources said Mr Blair would not be "pulling rabbits from hats" in terms of significant concessions to Mr Trimble on key issues like the Patten policing reforms. And the pressure on Mr Trimble continued as Mr Donaldson dismissed the latest IRA statement as "highly conditional" and, if anything, unhelpful to Mr Trimble.
Talks continued yesterday between pro-agreement Assembly members Mr Fred Cobain, Mr Danny Kennedy and Mr Donaldson. And last night both sides were confident a deal could be reached on an end-year date for UUP withdrawal from the power-sharing Executive in the absence of a start to IRA decommissioning.
The week-long talks are believed to have narrowed to whether a further meeting of the UUC should be called in the first week of January to formally sanction withdrawal.
However, the status of these internal peace moves was thrown into confusion by continuing signs that Mr Trimble is resisting a timetable for withdrawal from the Executive. And there appeared to be a possibility that disagreement on the strategy could cost Mr Trimble the support of some previously staunch allies.
It is understood that the two Assembly emissaries have been reporting back to the Minister of Enterprise, Sir Reg Empey, while Mr Trimble has been kept fully informed.
The most recent proposal put to Mr Donaldson yesterday would involve a call for a moratorium on the Patten reforms; immediate withdrawal from the North-South institutions; and a meeting of the Ulster Unionist Council in January to confirm the party's withdrawal from the Executive if IRA decommissioning has not begun by Christmas.
Mr Donaldson has circulated the terms of his proposals to the UUC on Saturday in the absence of any unity formulas.
He proposes November 30th as the "trigger" date, and that if decommissioning has not begun then a motion to exclude Sinn Fein from the Executive should be tabled for immediate debate in the Assembly. On the assumption that the requisite SDLP support for exclusion would not be forthcoming, UUP ministers would withdraw from the Executive by the start of the Christmas recess.
Under the Donaldson plan the UUC would be asked to demand a moratorium on RUC reform; retention of the "royal" title and cap badge; and to sanction withdrawal from the North-South bodies.
Having requisitioned Saturday's special meeting of the council, Mr Donaldson can determine the substantive motion to go before the delegates. Dissidents say the potential embarrassment for Mr Trimble is that he could be forced to table an amendment they would denounce as offering more "constructive ambiguity" of the kind Mr Trimble said recently had "lost its utility".
Torn between those on both sides of his party determined on a deadline, and a British government convinced deadlines will guarantee neither devolution nor decommissioning, Mr Trimble was reported to be "laid back" and confident. Some allies are sure he can survive any outcome on Saturday, and defy the anti-agreement coalition led by Mr Donaldson and the Rev Martin Smyth to test their strength directly in a fresh leadership challenge.
Mr Blair is expected to spend five hours in Northern Ireland, holding separate meetings with Mr Trimble, Mr Seamus Mallon and Mr Gerry Adams and undertaking visits and media engagements. Downing Street was unable to confirm that a meeting of the Joint Ministerial Conference on Health - involving British and UK devolved ministers - would take place at Stormont.