The US envoy to Northern Ireland has urged the DUP to hold direct talks with Sinn Féin to save the peace process from collapsing.
As he prepared to meet members of the Strabane District Policing Partnership, Ambassador Mitchell Reiss urged unionists and republicans to thrash out their differences over the negotiating table.
He also claimed he was more encouraged about the prospect of broader participation in policing after his discussions with Sinn Féin and other parties in recent days.
"I have been very consistent on the issue of the DUP and have said that they need to speak directly to Sinn Féin," Mr Reiss said. "If they have points of disagreement with Sinn Féin, then it is better to address them through face-to-face meetings rather than through the media.
"Dialogue must take place - not just on a one-to-one basis but through extended conversation," he said. "It is best to air differences sitting around a table and that is what I will be saying to the DUP when I meet them tomorrow."
Northern Ireland's politicians are preparing for an intensive push to restore devolution in the autumn. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, warned last week and after talks in London that, if they failed to achieve a breakthrough in September, they may have to stop paying Assembly Members' salaries and find a new way of running Northern Ireland.
The DUP leader, Rev Ian Paisley, said last week he detected a faint outline of a possible deal to revive the Assembly and his party would be submitting proposals this summer to move the political process forward. However the DUP has warned Sinn Féin that it will not share power with it until the IRA disarms and is wound down.
Sinn Féin leader Mr Gerry Adams has, however, been critical of the DUP's failure to take part in direct dialogue with his party and yesterday he accused Mr Paisley's party of putting the process on hold because their senior members were on holiday.