Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist Party held their first inter-party meeting at Stormont yesterday, but failed to make any breakthrough in the deadlock over arms decommissioning.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, and party colleague Mr Martin McGuinness described the 90-minute encounter as "frank, good and useful", while the UUP leader and First Minister, Mr David Trimble, said that both sides had merely restated familiar positions.
Mr Adams said he hoped the meeting would be the first in a series aimed at resolving differences and advancing the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Trimble said he could not say whether there would be further meetings between the two sides.
There were some "lively exchanges" during the meeting, but no "finger-pointing or shouting at each other", according to sources. There were no handshakes, although Christian names had been used, they added.
Five-member teams from each party, with a back-up of press officers and note-takers, faced each other across a rectangular table in a committee room of Parliament Buildings, Stormont.
Mr Adams said that a wide range of issues had been discussed, while Mr Trimble, speaking at a press conference afterwards, focused his attention on decommissioning. He said that, following Tuesday's vote paving the way for the transfer of powers to the Assembly and the creation of an executive, the onus was on the republican movement to deliver on the decommissioning of IRA weapons.
"We hope the republican movement does realise the opportunity that is here and does realise the obligation that the agreement does place on them to begin the process to decommission their weapons", Mr Trimble said.
"We hope that will take place in the next few weeks, but I cannot say that anything that did take place this morning gave me any reassurance."
The disarmament demand was in the agreement and had to be addressed, Mr Trimble said. "I am quite prepared for almost any procedure that is suggested by Gen de Chastelain (head of the decommissioning body), provided it includes a credible beginning of the process of decommissioning", he added.
Mr Adams reiterated Sinn Fein's position that paramilitary disarmament should be dealt with in line with the agreement.
"Every issue that comes up has to be seen as an issue to be resolved", Mr Adams said. "If we can use our intellect and our will and our goodwill and our mandate to resolve the problem, then every issue will be resolved. But everybody has to play a part in it, both governments, all the parties, and we don't absolve ourselves of responsibility of playing our part in that."
Mr McGuinness described meeting as useful, but said that the two sides had to build up a relationship before progress could be made. "There need to be more meetings. You can't get around a table for an hour-and-a-half with two political parties that have never met one another before and hope to resolve all the difficult issues that lie at the heart of this conflict."
The decommissioning section of the agreement dealt adequately with the issue, Mr McGuinness said. "The responsibility was given to Gen de Chastelain. He must be allowed to do his job. Let's not make this one issue the issue which is going to break this agreement."
Mr McGuinness said that Tuesday's vote in favour of the report drawn up by Mr Trimble and the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, had been "a bad day for the Paisleyites". He called on all pro-agreement parties to work together to implement all aspects of the agreement.
Mr Trimble was joined at the meeting by colleagues Mr John Taylor, Mr Ken Maginnis, Sir Reg Empey and Mr Michael McGimpsey. The Sinn Fein team was Mr Adams, Mr McGuinness, Mr Mitchel McLaughlin, Ms Lucilita Breathnach and Ms Eilis de Brun.
Sinn Fein also had its first official meeting with the Presbyterian Moderator, Dr John Dixon, at Stormont yesterday. Dr Dixon told the Sinn Fein delegation that decommissioning was a "moral issue" and a "political necessity".
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Dr Dixon said: "We feel it is totally and utterly immoral to talk in terms of democracy on the one hand and terrorism or the threat of violence on the other. We recognise there is a phenomenal gulf of trust between everybody in this whole situation."
For Sinn Fein, Ms de Brun said that there had been a "full and frank discussion" about many aspects of the agreement.
"We pointed out that there are a lot of mechanisms in the agreement dealing with equality, human rights, policing and the justice system as a whole, as well as decommissioning and demilitarisation, and that the agreement should be implemented in full", she added.
