The adoption of a new working-group format for the Stormont talks has increased the pressure on participants to identify the key issues to be resolved in a Northern peace settlement. The chairman, Senator George Mitchell, said the negotiations were "getting down to brass tacks".
The storm over the weekend remarks by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, on cross-Border bodies subsided considerably as the focus of attention shifted to the latest initiative by Mr Mitchell to move the process forward.
Until now each of the 10 delegations has been represented by an average of five persons. On some occasions as many as 70 were taking part in round-table discussions.
The new format will reduce this number to 10 delegations of two members each. These are expected to be made up of the party leader and one other representative.
Mr Andrews described it as a "new beginning" and the North's Political Development Minister, Mr Paul Murphy, said it was "a very good development, a progressive development".
The first meeting of the new working-group takes place this morning. It will discuss a timetable of meetings leading up to the next full plenary session of the talks scheduled for December 15th-17th.
The new format was adopted on the suggestion of the chairman at a brief meeting attended by party leaders yesterday morning. Delegates ratified the decision at a brief plenary session in the afternoon.
Mr Mitchell said the purpose of the working group was to prepare "an agreed statement of the key issues to be resolved" and "an agreed format for resolving those issues".
Flanked by his fellow-chairmen, Gen John de Chastelain and Mr Harri Holkeri, Mr Mitchell told reporters: "We believe that the participants are serious and committed to moving this process forward, and we're more hopeful than ever that meaningful progress is possible."
When it was pointed out that the Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, would be absent from today's meeting of the working group, Mr Mitchell said this was "readily explainable" as there had been less than 24 hours' notice and Mr Trimble had other commitments. The party leaders had indicated that, whereas they might not be present for every meeting, they would attend when decisions were being made.
Mr Trimble told a press conference that he and his party colleagues welcomed the latest development.
He said it might be possible to see if there were specific issues which could be agreed.
One of the issues the UUP would be focusing on was the fact that there had been "absolutely no progress" towards implementing the compromise suggested by Mr Mitchell on the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons.
Mr Trimble denied a report in The Irish Times quoting Government sources who said he had sought "clarification" from the Government on Monday in the wake of the controversial remarks by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. He said he had been delivering an opinion on Mr Andrews's comments. Asked if he would be meeting the Taoiseach next week, the UUP leader replied: "Possibly." Mr Ahern is due to visit the talks on Monday.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, accused Mr Trimble of having a "semi-detached attitude" to the negotiations. He said people outside the process needed to be given some sense that the leaders were prepared to apply themselves.
Mr Ian Paisley jnr, of the Democratic Unionist Party, said Mr Trimble would be "negotiating one-on-one with Gerry Adams" and had been "sucked further into a fast-track surrender process".
The leader of the loyalist Ulster Democratic Party, Mr Gary McMichael, said the working group would examine "the core areas where agreement is necessary in order to make up the components of an overall agreement".