Senator George Mitchell is to hold talks with the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, today to try to end the deadlock over IRA decommissioning and setting up an executive in the North.
He is also expected to meet President Clinton later this week. Mr Mitchell yesterday suspended his review of the implementation of the Belfast Agreement until Monday, when discussions between the parties will reconvene at Stormont.
In a statement he said: "My meetings with the parties are well advanced. Consultation with them is the most important but not the only part of the review.
"Before advancing it further I must meet with the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach, since they initiated the review." Mr Mitchell said he expected to have his report ready "shortly" after meeting the parties in Belfast on Monday.
It is unclear if this will simply report on progress so far or propose a way forward. Mr Mitchell said he must also obtain an assessment from the International Commission on Decommissioning, as two of the three principles agreed by the parties last June concerned disarmament.
He admitted there were still differences between the parties but said he believed they genuinely wanted to find a way forward. "On the basis of intensive discussions conducted over a period of nine weeks, I am convinced these parties are sincere and acting in good faith in seeking the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement," he said.
"They want devolution and decommissioning. The problem, of course, is that there are differences among the parties on how those objectives can be achieved.["]
The Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, said more time was needed to reach a lasting solution but he believed it could be done. He was convinced of the sincerity of all those involved.
He appealed for patience to be displayed towards the North's politicians. "They share the same goal. They are navigating a way through, and I believe that they will, but it requires more time for them to do so successfully," he said.
"I believe the issues involved are so serious, are so great, that they should be given any amount of time, any amount of effort. It has to be a robust conclusion. "We are looking for an enduring agreement on a series of difficult and interlocking issues which have all got to be resolved before we can see the full implementation of the Good Friday agreement."
Sir Reg Empey of the Ulster Unionists said his party wanted accountable democracy as soon as possible but stressed that Provisional IRA decommissioning must take place.
His party leader, Mr David Trimble, left for the US yesterday. He is expected to meet President Clinton's deputy national security adviser, Mr Jim Steinberg, on Friday. Mr Trimble will return on Sunday.
Mr Gerry Adams said decommissioning was a huge issue for unionists but insisted it must be a voluntary process and the necessary conditions had to be created, including the implementation of the agreement.
He said there was still a slim chance of a political breakthrough. "I am hopeful the small chance that there is can be nurtured. This is the best chance we have of resolving all these issues," he said.
Earlier Mr Alex Maskey of Sinn Fein said that despite an improved atmosphere, the old problems remained and most unionists were still afraid of sharing power with republicans.
"They are balking at the proposals of the all-Ireland dimension, the ministerial council and the implementation bodies," he said.
"If we are to avert the crisis in this review, the review itself has to come to a speedy conclusion. The political parties have a direct and urgent responsibility to establish the institutions."