British prime minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern have identified "a number of strategies" they believe could see power-sharing government restored to Northern Ireland by the end of the year.
The Taoiseach signalled the two governments will announce their proposed way forward ahead of this summer's loyalist marching season.
Speaking after "an important" and "focused" meeting with Mr Blair in Downing Street yesterday, Mr Ahern resisted invitations to set a specific deadline - while insisting the two governments would not be content "to sit around". The Taoiseach said London and Dublin's shared purpose was to implement the Belfast Agreement "as fully, completely and inclusively" as possible, and he maintained he and Mr Blair remained confident they could achieve success during the course of this year.
However, while appealing to the political parties for their help in the process, Mr Ahern also warned: "if it's left to the two governments, the two governments will give the leadership and take the decisions, if that's the way it has to be."
This contained an echo of Mr Blair's determination to eventually force a decision on the Stormont Assembly, either to reinstate power-sharing government or see the devolved institutions at the heart of the Good Friday accord collapse.
The timeframe envisaged by the Taoiseach also seemed to suggest he and Mr Blair were standing firmly together, despite Sinn Féin, SDLP and some Ulster Unionist opposition to the idea of a transitional arrangement whereby the Assembly might be recalled with initially limited powers coupled with an absolute deadline for the appointment of an inclusive Executive.
Commenting on the Taoiseach's remarks, SDLP deputy leader Alasdair McDonnell MP said: "The British government's plan for a shadow assembly was a lousy idea that had no potential and it is good that they are now rethinking it."
That statement obviously reflected nationalist and republican hopes that Mr Ahern's reference to a number of strategies now under consideration was diplomatic cover for a Downing Street retreat from the general strategy first outlined in The Irish Times almost three weeks ago.
However, the Taoiseach's indication of the political process continuing for much of the year could also be seen as acceptance of Mr Blair's view that an early Assembly vote to resume power sharing, without a fall-back position, would almost certainly see the entire process "crash-land" within the six weeks provided by statute.
The Irish Times understands Mr Blair has definitely not "given up" on the possibility of DUP leader Ian Paisley agreeing to share power with Sinn Féin if satisfied by future reports of the Independent Monitoring Commission that all IRA activity has been brought to an end.
But there is acute awareness in both capitals that Mr Blair faces a major difficulty in persuading Sinn Féin to accept any transitional arrangement of indeterminate duration, particularly in the absence of direct dialogue between the DUP and Sinn Féin, and given some evidence of tension within the DUP as to whether a power-sharing deal is the desired final outcome.
In a statement yesterday ahead of the talks, DUP MP Nigel Dodds called on Mr Blair to "face down Sinn Féin" and go for an Assembly without an Executive.
Sinn Féin MP Pat Doherty said yesterday's Downing Street talks were "a missed opportunity" and that the two governments should have acted on his party's call to set a date for the recall of the Assembly and the election of ministers by the end of April.