The Mitchell Review is to adjourn tomorrow until next Monday to give unionist politicians, in particular, an opportunity to come to terms with the proposals in the Patten report on policing.
The former US Senator, Mr George Mitchell, opened his review of the Belfast Agreement yesterday, conscious that initially at least little real progress can be achieved until the Patten report is out of the way.
He is meeting the smaller parties today and the British and Irish governments tomorrow morning, after which he will adjourn his work until after the weekend. He saw little point in continuing through the week as the Patten report is to be released on Thursday.
While the talks were in progress the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the British Prime Minister met for an hour in London to discuss the situation. Mr Mitchell also said he would be in regular contact with the US President, Mr Clinton.
Mr Mitchell made it clear yesterday that the review will be narrowly focused, concentrating specifically on breaking the deadlock over decommissioning and the formation of an executive. However, he did not set a deadline for the conclusion of the review, apart from saying his time was limited.
While Mr Mitchell appealed for politicians to make every effort to find some common ground between the opposing positions of Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionist Party on forming an executive and IRA disarmament there was little evidence of any meeting of minds yesterday.
Mr Mitchell acknowledged the difficulties when he said he did not have "a magic wand that will wave away these problems". But he believed progress could be made.
"I believe these difficulties can be overcome. If I thought otherwise I would not be here," he said. "There is a chance - the best in many years - to set Northern Ireland on the path to enduring peace and political stability."
Mr Mitchell said he had yet to decide whether at the end of the review he would put forward proposals that he believed represented the best chance of a compromise on the issue of "guns and government".
Mr Mitchell, in meeting the main parties at Castle Buildings, Stormont - the UUP, the SDLP, the DUP and Sinn Fein - heard each side's analysis of the difficulties and how they might be resolved.
But in press conferences outside Castle Buildings it was clear that the gulf of distrust between Sinn Fein and the UUP remains very wide. The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, said republicans had yet to prove they had rejected violence.
He said he would be prepared to "jump together" with Sinn Fein but only on the basis of the UUP demand of "no guns, no government".
Mr Trimble also criticised the former Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, for adopting a "lofty" position of sitting on the "fence". He said Mr Mallon could have done more to help end the impasse. This was in response to criticism from Mr Mallon that the UUP was perpetually stalling progress.
The Sinn Fein vice president, Mr Pat Doherty, described his party's meeting with Mr Mitchell as "friendly and constructive".
"We welcomed Senator Mitchell's assertion that the agreement is not for renegotiation and his stated determination to make the review both short and successful," he said.
Mr Doherty called on the British government, in particular, to defend the agreement. "Their recent stewardship is a cause for serious concern," he complained.
The DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, said after meeting Mr Mitchell that he wanted to "wreck" the Belfast Agreement.
