The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, will be maintaining close contact with developments over the weekend as efforts are further intensified to end the political logjam.
British and Irish officials will continue their talks with Sinn Fein, the SDLP and the Ulster Unionist Party in the coming days to try to finalise a formula that would resolve outstanding difficulties over policing, decommissioning and disposal of paramilitary arms.
Dublin and London sources said it was possible that Mr Ahern and Mr Blair could be back at Hillsborough by early or mid-week. "Mr Ahern and Mr Blair will be monitoring developments closely, but it is unlikely that they will be directly involved in negotiations this weekend," said a British source.
Mr Blair held separate half-hour meetings at Downing Street yesterday with the First Minister, Mr David Trimble, and the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, both of whom curtailed their joint European jobs promotion trip to meet the Prime Minister.
Mr Trimble said after his meeting that there was "no progress to report". The looming Westminster election was limiting the time for a deal, he said.
The First Minister said he was disappointed that no progress had been made by London and Dublin to persuade Sinn Fein and the SDLP to resolve issues concerning decommissioning and policing.
He wanted matters "brought to a head sooner rather than later" and in the light of the consultation exercise being undertaken by the Ulster Unionist Party, Mr Trimble said that if there was no agreement "then the party will want to register its disapproval of that in some concrete way".
But he had no doubt that if political parties honoured their commitments, the obstacles to agreement could be removed. "I've no doubt that they could be resolved," he said.
Mr Mallon made no comment after his meeting. Downing Street said the political will existed to reach agreement, but progress was slow.
On Wednesday night as he entered Downing Street to meet Mr Blair, the Taoiseach expressed confidence that the final difficulties would be overcome. Dublin sources said that there was still great potential for an all-embracing deal.
"There has been no slippage. Progress is being made, but as always this form of negotiations has its own pace," said an Irish insider. He said how the talks with officials progressed over the weekend would be important in determining whether there will be a completed package next week.
A London source agreed. "We are making progress. But is slow, it is painstaking, it is complex. There are a lot of detailed discussions to get through. People mustn't get ahead of themselves," he said.
It is believed that most progress has been made on the linkage between demilitarisation and IRA movement on arms, but that serious hurdles remained on policing for Sinn Fein, and also for the SDLP.
