A proposed IRA statement effectively declaring an end to its campaign of violence was at the heart of intense efforts at Hillsborough Castle last night to resolve the decommissioning crisis in the peace process.
The talks, involving the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister, adjourned shortly before 10.30 p.m. and will resume at 9 a.m. today.
The plan under discussion also included a provision for the IRA to enter negotiations with Gen John de Chastelain on the modalities of decommissioning its weapons.
A proposal along these lines was said to have emerged at a two-hour meeting between Mr Blair and Mr Ahern and a Sinn Fein delegation. It is understood that this meeting lasted twice as long as expected.
The IRA is said to be willing to make a statement containing language which republicans would regard as highly conciliatory. But before such a statement would be issued the republican movement would want to be sure that Mr David Trimble would respond favourably and agree to move towards establishing the executive.
Anglo-Irish officials have been asked to prepare a position paper for presentation to the Taoiseach and the Prime Minister at 9 a.m. today, reflecting some movement which they believe took place on the "margins of the main issue" of decommissioning by the main Northern parties, according to Government sources.
The sources said that they still believed that an agreement to address the decommissioning obstacle was "possible".
Meanwhile, Mr Blair has made tentative arrangements to leave Belfast to attend Prime Minister's Question Time in the House of Commons this afternoon. But he indicated to the Taoiseach late last night that he might remain at the talks if some momentum was being achieved.
The UUP vice-president, Sir Reg Empey, was asked on the UTV evening news what his party needed from Sinn Fein. "First of all, an IRA statement that says they accept the principle of disarmament and that they are pre pared to enter into negotiations with Gen de Chastelain about the modalities of commencing a credible process of decommissioning."
Sir Reg added: "That allows us then to work out the details of how the executive is formed, the timing and all of these other mat ters. But unless we have that understanding then it's impossible to get the process of negotiation started."
However, as a counterpoint to Sir Reg's moderate-sounding language, the party's deputy leader, Mr John Taylor, reiterated in very strong terms that it would not be possible to form an executive with Sinn Fein unless there was a prior handover of IRA weapons.
A gathering of Ulster Unionist Assembly members at a hotel just outside Hillsborough discussed the latest proposal in general terms, but there appeared to be little initial enthusiasm for it.
There was a first for the talks when Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein met Mr Ahern and Mr Blair together. But there was no moderation in the UUP position at the table: the party still insisted that decommissioning must take place simultaneous with Sinn Fein's entry to government.
Sources close to republican thinking said that the IRA statement and undertaking to work with Gen de Chastelain was the most that would be on offer to Mr Trimble, at least until the Patten Commission on the RUC had delivered its report.
In the final stages of yesterday's talks efforts were being made to incorporate guarantees from the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, that the SDLP would co-operate in excluding Sinn Fein from government if decommissioning failed to take place by a specific date.
Before the talks adjourned for the night Mr Blair's spokesman said that agreement was "difficult but do-able". Asked if the two governments had put forward proposals on decommissioning, he replied: "There are a limited number of ways in which this can be addressed." However, unionist sources laughed when told that the Prime Minister's spokesman had said "real progress" had been made in the talks.