The North's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, has warned that the Belfast Agreement could collapse by June unless there was movement on IRA arms decommissioning.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Mr Trimble said the agreement as well as the institutions set up under it were "not stable" unless republicans fulfilled their commitments on a weapons handover.
Expressing fears that a fresh dispute over decommissioning could overshadow the British parliamentary election campaign, Mr Trimble is quoted as saying: "Unless there is movement there is going to be a crisis and that crisis could come before the general election. I can't see how we can get through June if republicans have not moved."
There are fears within the Ulster Unionist Party that a lack of progress on arms could lead to it losing some of its nine Westminster seats to anti-agreement unionist parties. A source close to Mr Trimble yesterday told The Irish Times that there was a "palpable increase in tension" among party officers as the election date drew nearer.
The UUP's interpretation of last year's Hillsborough agreement is that Gen John de Chastelain's decommissioning body's mandate runs out in June. Such a mandate could be extended only if supported by a majority of local parties. The Independent International Commission on Decommissioning, however, does not think it is working within an explicit time-frame but has repeatedly said it would recommend its own disbandment if there was no concrete progress on decommissioning.
The UUP source said Mr Trimble "might think twice" before endorsing an extension of the general's mandate unless he felt that progress on decommissioning was "tantalisingly close". Without the UUP leader's support, it was "highly unlikely" that Gen de Chastelain could continue his work, he added. Meanwhile, UUP officers will have to consider a request by more than 100 anti-agreement party members for an extraordinary meeting of the party's 860-strong ruling council to discuss a motion on the right of constituency associations to choose their election candidates "free from central interference".