Sinn Fein's chief negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness, has said that unionist attempts to divide "nationalist Ireland" and "to split Bertie Ahern, Gerry Adams and John Hume" had failed miserably.
Speaking at Stormont yesterday, as parties waited for the first draft of an outline agreement from the talks chairman, Senator George Mitchell, Mr McGuinness said he was very encouraged by reports from the Taoiseach in London of a positive meeting with the British Prime Minister.
"We're very hopeful that the result of that can be reflected in the Senator's paper and we can get down to doing the business in the course of the next few days," he said.
Mr McGuinness said he believed nationalist Ireland was pleased with Mr Ahern's performance over the past few days because he had made it clear that nationalists were not going to accept anything less than they were entitled to.
"I think that whenever the Taoiseach of Ireland is articulating a view which is clearly all about achieving justice, achieving equality, that is a message which people respond to, and which gives great encouragement to them," he said.
He added that the moment of truth had arrived for all the parties and the two governments, and that they would now have to be seriously engaged around the core issues.
Unionists had refused to negotiate with Sinn Fein, but over the next few days, whether they spoke to the party or not, he said, they would "come to realise that they are involved in negotiations not just with the Irish Government and the SDLP but also with Sinn Fein".
The Progressive Unionist Party spokesman, Mr David Ervine, said Senator Mitchell's paper would have to be more than just a synthesis paper. It would have to begin to outline the possible compromises and be a single text for negotiation. He added: "It must have in it the outline of an agreement."
He said he believed the parties would examine the document over the weekend and give their definitive responses to it by Monday.
Mr Ervine said comments made by the Taoiseach in recent days were unhelpful and the Irish Government seemed to have another focus of attention in London. "Frankly, the Irish delegation at times seem to be out of the loop. So we have two sets of negotiation going on as far as the Irish are concerned and we are not sure which one we should listen to."
Mr Reg Empey of the Ulster Unionists said his party was shocked and disappointed by Mr Ahern's insistence that he would not change his position on the key issues. "It's no good going to London to make cosy agreements. Our message to him is that if he persists in this line he will have to take the responsibility for the consequences of that. It has to be made clear that unless the Irish Government is prepared to make an accommodation there will be no agreement."
Meanwhile, the deputy leader of the UUP, Mr John Taylor, accused the Government of setting a trap for unionists. He said the draft of the changes to Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution, seen by the UUP a week ago, was inadequate and he was not prepared to agree to compromises on an Assembly or North-South bodies, "and then find, at the last moment, that Eire is not going to deliver on Articles 2 and 3".
Speaking to the Shankill Unionist Association in west Belfast, Mr Taylor said it was a "preposterous suggestion" that any important decision taken in an assembly would have to be agreed by a majority of unionists and a majority of nationalists. "This would give a veto to nationalists," he said.
It was also being suggested that no one could be a head of a department unless they agreed to serve in a North-South council, he added.
Dublin was demanding that the North-South council be created by legislation at Westminster, and the trap here was that even if nationalists eventually wrecked the Assembly, the North-South council would continue.
"So for the price of accepting inadequate changes in Articles 2 and 3, we could end up in time with no assembly for Northern Ireland but with new all-Ireland institutions deciding our affairs without being answerable to the people of Northern Ireland," Mr Taylor said. He was still of the opinion that there was only a 5 per cent chance of an agreement being reached.