The Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, said yesterday that although his party had not decided if it would sit down with Sinn Fein, the talks process could "not move off the issue of decommissioning without our agreement".
Emerging from a 90-minute meeting with the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, at Downing Street, Mr Trimble insisted that a peace settlement could not be brokered in Northern Ireland without the UUP. While the UUP was engaged in ongoing consultation within the UUP and the Unionist community, the crucial agreement on the future of Northern Ireland was the agreement of the Ulster Unionist Party.
Asked if the UUP would sit down with Sinn Fein if, as expected, Sinn Fein was invited into the talks today by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Mr Trimble said: "We will wait and see. We will decide when we decide."
He gave no indication that the UUP's decision was imminent despite the call by his Upper Bann Constituency Association on Monday to remain in the talks. Standing next to Mr Trimble was the UUP MP for Lagan Valley, Mr Jeffrey Donaldson, whose constituents have also called for the UUP to remain at the talks table. But Mr Trimble remained resolute. If the UUP took the decision to sit down with Sinn Fein, he said, "and it is a very big if", it would be taken at the appropriate time.
"Bear in mind that we are engaged with a widespread process of consultation within the party and amongst the community in Northern Ireland which is still ongoing.
"Our view of the matter is, at present, Sinn Fein have not established their commitment to exclusively peaceful means, which of course is the test contained in the legislation. If you are committed to exclusively peaceful means then that means you are going to abide by the views of the people as democratically expressed and not try to change it by violence," Mr Trimble said.
The meeting with Mr Blair had not been one "from which one expected any results as such", Mr Trimble said. But the crucial question was whether the outcome of the talks process would be determined by the views of the people of Northern Ireland or by violence or threat of violence.
Afterwards, Downing Street sources described the meeting as "constructive and positive", which jarred somewhat with Mr Trimble's mood when he said, "so far, we haven't been satisfied" with the discussion on decommissioning.
Earlier, the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, met Mr Blair at Downing Street to brief him ahead of the announcement expected in Belfast today that the British government's six-week assessment of the IRA ceasefire was complete and Sinn Fein would be invited into talks. London appears satisfied that the ceasefire will hold and Sinn Fein will be expected to sign up to the Mitchell Principles when it joins the talks.
However, sounding a cautious note yesterday, Mr Trimble said he would not make any assumptions on whether Sinn Fein had established a commitment to peaceful negotiations.
On the prospects for the peace process, he said "the jury's out" and he insisted that any settlement in Northern Ireland would be based on the consent of the people of Northern Ireland.