Demands being made by the Democratic Unionist Party in talks aimed at restoring power sharing are still unacceptable, Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams said tonight.
Mr Adams told party activists in Navan, Co Meath that the DUP would have to change its mindset on power sharing if there was to be a shared future for unionists and republicans.
Mr Adams said it was a "defining point in the peace process" adding: "In every negotiation there is a time when you have to call it. For Ian Paisley that time is now."
He called on the two governments to press ahead with the implementation of the Belfast Agreement if the DUP fails to strike a deal in the coming days.
"Under the provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, parties have to vote for the nominees for the joint Office of the First and Deputy First Ministers," he said.
"At this point in the negotiations one of the most important issues to be resolved is the DUP's refusal to do this.
"This unwillingness to share power with Sinn Féin, to accept Sinn Féin's democratic mandate, and to respect the rights and entitlements of our electorate is a block on efforts to move forward.
"The DUP demands are not acceptable to Sinn Féin. They should not be acceptable to the two governments."
The Rev Ian Paisley's party has been pressing for changes to the way first and deputy first ministers are elected in the Assembly.
Republicans also have concerns about the party's willingness to treat both positions equally as the Belfast Agreement envisaged.
If power sharing is restored, the DUP, as the largest Northern Ireland Assembly party, will be entitled to nominate either Mr Paisley or his deputy Peter Robinson to the post of First Minister.
Sinn Féin's Mr Martin McGuinness is expected to be his party's nominee for Deputy First Minister. At a meeting which selected Mr Joe Reilly as Sinn Féin's Dail by-election candidate in Co Meath, Mr Adams tonight also criticised Mr Paisley's comments that in the event of a deal the IRA would have to repent of past crimes.
"The DUP leader, Ian Paisley, also needs to face up to his responsibilities to join in the collective challenge of peace making," he said.
"His refusal to talk to Sinn Féin makes this very difficult. His recent remarks compound these difficulties.
"They also explain his refusal to embrace the power sharing, all-Ireland and equality fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement.
"A DUP demand for the humiliation of republicans is not only unacceptable, it will not happen and it has no place in a process of peace making.
"The days of humiliation, of second-class citizens and of inequality are over and gone forever.
"If the DUP want to be part of a new and shared future, they will have to replace the mindset of humiliation with a new psychology of accommodation and generosity."
With the DUP demanding photographic evidence in any future IRA disarmament act, Mr Adams acknowledged that unionist leaders had raised concerns about the IRA's weapons. He repeated his claim after talks with British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the issue could be resolved.
"Sinn Féin believes that this matter can be dealt with to the satisfaction of all reasonable people in the context of a comprehensive agreement and under the remit of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning," he said.