It is time for the Democratic Unionist Party to decide if they accept power sharing in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin said today.
Chief Negotiator, Mr Martin McGuinness said political talks were "fast coming to decision time, particularly for the DUP.
The Mid Ulster MP said: "We need to crack this by the end of this month. That's the reality we are facing. If we don't do that I think clearly we will have arrived at a situation where the DUP are not prepared to accept the core principles of the Agreement.
"Are the DUP prepared to accept a comprehensive deal, which is based on the core principles of the Good Friday Agreement or are they going to continue to attempt through the two governments to erode the power-sharing fundamentals of the Agreement as they attempt to reintroduce unionist rule," Mr McGuinness said in Belfast.
"I have often said that I believe that the DUP and Sinn Féin will do a deal.
"So why not do this deal now? The DUP claim to be the confident and assertive leaders of unionism. So let us see some of that confidence. It is time for the DUP to decide if they accept power sharing, equality, the All-Ireland architecture and the fundamentals of the Good Friday Agreement or not."
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Ahern, and the Northern Secretary, Mr Paul Murphy, are due to meet at Stormont tomorrow as efforts continue to break the deadlock between the DUP and the pro-Belfast Agreement parties.
Sinn Féin and the SDLP are insisting that there is no dilution of the Belfast Agreement to meet the demands of the DUP, particularly on ministerial accountability.
The DUP last week rejected any early deadline for completion of the current talks process and again stipulated tough terms for Sinn Féin's eventual readmission to a power-sharing government at Stormont.
There is reason to hope that a breakthrough can be achieved, despite the apparently entrenched positions. Speculation is rife that the IRA is on the verge of a substantial act of decommissioning which could include total disarmament.
Unionists are insisting such a move takes place before devolution can be restored.
Additional reporting PA