Efforts to strike a comprehensive Northern political deal have intensified with the intervention of President George Bush.
But it will be Tuesday at the earliest before it is known if an agreement is possible that would see the return of the Northern Executive and Assembly.
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, last night briefed the party's 80- 100-member ruling executive on the British and Irish governments' slightly modified blueprint for a solution, which was presented to Sinn Féin and the DUP yesterday afternoon.
Dr Paisley said he would present the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, with the DUP response on Tuesday. The Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, also said his party's response would be delivered early next week, which means that at the earliest it will be mid-week before it is known whether a deal is achievable.
Dublin and London hope Mr Bush's involvement at this critical stage of the negotiations could be positive. The US President telephoned Dr Paisley yesterday and was also due to contact Mr Adams.
The call was made at the behest of Mr Bush's ally, Mr Blair, it is understood. Mr Bush diplomatically urged Dr Paisley to endorse the deal, it is believed.
Dr Paisley welcomed such high level contact but told reporters he had made no commitments to Mr Bush. "I told him I would like to be in a position to make a deal, but that any deal must be fair. And it must address to my satisfaction and my electorate's satisfaction all the fundamental issues that have blocked progress for so long," he said.
It was becoming clearer last night that the DUP demand for a visual element to decommissioning has the potential to be a deal-breaker.
The Finucane family's decision not to co-operate with an inquiry into solicitor Pat Finucane's murder because of objections to British government restrictions on how the inquiry is conducted could also complicate and sour these efforts to achieve a comprehensive political deal.
"It is an issue that we will have to closely look at," said a senior Sinn Féin source.
The governments believe their slightly amended proposals strike a fair balance between the concerns and requirements of both Sinn Féin and the DUP. There are official anxieties, however, that the DUP requirement for visual proof of decommissioning could yet shatter the chances of a deal.
Dublin and London have placed such a requirement in their blueprint based on Dr Paisley's insistence that without visual proof most unionists would reject the proposals.
Sinn Féin has consistently refused to say whether republicans could tolerate this demand, insisting that how IRA disarmament is achieved must be a matter for the IRA and General John de Chastelain's decommissioning body. But one republican told The Irish Times that the photographic requirement was causing difficulty "emotionally, politically and personally" in republican heartlands.
Mr Adams refused to be drawn about the photographic decommissioning requirement. He said he would not go to the IRA about the blueprint until there was a comprehensive deal on the table.
"We have not gone to the IRA. We have no plans to go to the IRA. We will only take those decisions when we have a comprehensive package, and we will make a judgment on that," he added.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, yesterday warned the parties against delaying their responses. "Playing it a bit too long does not mean you build on what you have. The cards could collapse. We have brought this an awful long way and I don't want to have to go back down the roadway," he told UTV.