A major political and diplomatic effort was under way last night to prevent serious damage to the peace process by ensuring that Gen John de Chastelain was in a position to deliver a positive report on decommissioning.
The general's report on behalf of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning (IICD) is officially due to be presented today to the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, in Belfast, and the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, in Dublin. However, at a late stage last night the report had still not been written.
The document, probably consisting of several pages, is not likely to be completed until this morning and may not be ready for presentation until this afternoon or even tonight. Senior sources pointed out that the general could hold off until just before midnight, and there have even been suggestions that the paper might not be ready until tomorrow morning.
The document was originally expected on Friday, and the delay was seen as a reflection of an intense drive to persuade the IRA to give the general sufficient grounds for reporting that significant progress was being made on decommissioning.
Senior officials from Dublin were said to be playing the central role, with the active encouragement of the new Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, in moves to guarantee a positive report.
While it was broadly accepted that there was no possibility the general could report an actual decommissioning gesture, political and diplomatic efforts were reportedly aimed at securing a convincing undertaking from the IRA that it would use its best efforts to meet the May deadline for total disarmament.
The delivery of the report, once it has been completed, is likely to be carried out in a low-key manner, probably reflecting the need for the two governments to take time before responding to its contents, although Gen de Chastelain will have the benefit of advice and counsel from both governments in the report's preparation.
There are continuing anxieties about the Ulster Unionist motion at the Assembly tomorrow to discuss the report, which has reportedly discouraged republicans from making even verbal concessions on weapons because they believe the unionists are preparing to leave the Executive anyway.
Well-placed sources said the report would be factual in content and that the IICD was "not going to be putting any spin on it". Interpretation was a matter for others.
The fear in Northern political circles is that if the general fails to report significant progress, Mr Trimble will be obliged to offer his resignation as First Minister, thereby precipitating the suspension of the institutions and the start of a fresh review process.
At the weekend the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, warned that suspension would probably result in the IRA deciding to withdraw the interlocutor it had appointed to meet the decommissioning body.
Contacts between the general and the IRA representative were believed to be continuing over the weekend.
Observers concluded from the protracted nature of the negotiations that the two governments were experiencing very considerable difficulty in getting the IRA to move.
If the republicans were, for example, to agree modalities (methods and procedures) for decommissioning, this could be presented as a positive step, but it appears the level of trust between the republicans on the one hand and the unionists and British government on the other, has dropped sharply since the successful conclusion of the Mitchell review in November.