Hopes that the IRA is on the brink of decommissioning grew last night, following the decision of a leading Sinn FΘin member, Mr Martin McGuinness, to travel to the United States to brief Irish-American opinion.
During two days, the Northern Ireland Education Minister will have meetings with leading Irish-American figures in New York before travelling to Washington.
There, he will meet with the State Department's special envoy to Ireland, Mr Richard Haas, and members of the House of Representatives involved in the "Friends of Ireland" and the Ad-Hoc Committee on Ireland.
Key sources last night believed that he would also hold a number of meetings away from the public glare with Irish-Americans who may be concerned by any move on decommissioning by the IRA.
The Government believes that Sinn FΘin is carefully orchestrating its actions in an attempt to ensure that all sides fully understand the "seismic" significance of decommissioning, should it happen.
The Sinn FΘin president, Mr Gerry Adams, made it clear yesterday that the Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, must fully engage in the Northern Ireland Executive and the North/South bodies.
Mr Trimble must focus on "being the First Minister for all of the people of the Six Counties", not just on leading the Unionist community, Mr Adams told RT╔ radio's This Week.
Mr Adams emphasised repeatedly that Sinn FΘin's contacts with the Irish and British governments, the Ulster Unionists and with the IRA "will continue until tomorrow evening".
But he rejected yesterday's comment by the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr John Reid, that the Executive would collapse on Thursday if the Ulster Unionists and Democratic Unionists quit.
"For John Reid to say that time is running out is nonsense. You are dealing here with 800 years of history. When you are dealing with that amount of history there is no such thing as time running out."
Mr Adams's decision yesterday to emphasise the need for institutional stability, instead of demilitarisation and policing, is taken as indication that Sinn FΘin will accept the proposals on offer from London.
In addition, the Government's refusal to consider an early release for the IRA men convicted of the manslaughter of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe has been tacitly, if reluctantly, accepted for now, sources say.
The chairman of the International Independent Body on Decommissioning, Gen John De Chastelain, will return to Belfast today, following a four-day visit to Canada.
Dr Reid said the Belfast Agreement has "a long way to go".
"It may take many years to get the full fruition of it, but an indispensable part of that is a further movement on the arms issue, and of course that applies to all paramilitaries."
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, had a telephone conversation with the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, following a brief discussion between the two on the margins of Friday's meeting of EU leaders in Ghent.
During a telephone call with the Prime Minister, Mr Adams told Mr Blair that he could "not be neutral", and that he had to move decisively to capitalise on any room for manoeuvre that may be created.
Mr McGuinness said he was working "flat out" to secure IRA decommissioning. "We want to see a situation where these people who are within the political leadership of Unionism, who tell us that they are in favour of the Good Friday Agreement will, at long last, embrace that Agreement wholeheartedly," he said.
Essentially, Mr Trimble must show anti-Agreement colleagues, such as Mr Jeffrey Donaldson and Mr David Burnside, "that they are not going to succeed", Mr McGuinness said.
