Northern Ireland Secretary Dr John Reid said today June remained the British and Irish governments' deadline for progress on decommissioning IRA weapons.
He signalled a major drive would be mounted immediately after the British general election on implementing outstanding issues in the Belfast Agreement. It will be "all hands to the pumps", he said.
Ulster Unionist Party leader Mr David Trimble has signed a post-dated resignation as Northern Ireland First Minister unless there is major movement on decommissioning by July 1st.
In May the two governments said they "believe and expected that substantial progress would be made on all the outstanding issues by June of this year".
Dr Reid said: "That remains our aim and our deadline."
"Immediately after that we will get down to work and I think all of the parties who have been working so hard and showing such a great deal of courage in support of the Good Friday Agreement will want to see that succeed in June."
He said he thought the "major dynamo" behind that was not actually the politicians themselves, though they were important, but the people of Northern Ireland.
He was speaking at Hillsborough Castle, Co Down, where he met former US Senator Mr George Mitchell whose efforts led to the signing of the Belfast Agreement.
Dr Reid said the senator had made the comment at the time of the Agreement that implementation would be even more difficult than reaching the agreement.
"That is certainly proving to be a challenge that we all have to face up to."
PA