A genuine and swift review of the implementation of the Belfast Agreement could work, according to the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams. However, he has stressed the seriousness of the current crisis in the political process and his belief that Ulster Unionists aimed to stall it further.
Mr Adams was speaking after the North's political parties held meetings with the Northern Secretary, Dr Mo Mowlam, and the North's Development Minister, Mr Paul Murphy, yesterday ahead of an announcement by the British government early next week outlining the structure of the review process.
He described the Northern Assembly sitting on Thursday as "a defining moment". The session witnessed the creation and immediate collapse of an executive containing SDLP and Sinn Fein ministers and a boycott by Ulster Unionist Assembly members.
"The unionists have a two-year plan of delay here, and this review can become another part of the stalling mechanism. With genuine, swift and radical action the review could work, but if it tails to six months then who knows."
On a positive note Mr Adams said he had not "given up the ghost" on the ability of the British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, to review his stewardship of the peace process and forge a deal. But attempts by the UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, to renegotiate the Belfast Agreement were not acceptable, he added.
"David Trimble once told me things might work out, but it might take a different agreement. We're not going along with that. The Belfast Agreement is either a ladder out of injustice, discrimination and equality or it is a sham," said Mr Adams.
Bilateral talks between the parties should begin next week, Mr Trimble said, as the UUP delegation left their meeting with Mr Murphy. He said the review should specifically address the issues of paramilitary arms and the devolution of power "with a view to try and produce results as quickly as possible".
He would give no further indication of whether he intended to retain his position as the First Minister after the resignation of the Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, on Thursday. An announcement from Mr Trimble could come later today, however, as he departs tomorrow for a three-week holiday.
Dr Mowlam said that because the two men were elected together there was a question mark over whether Mr Trimble should remain in office. "We're looking at the legal implications of that," she said.
She insisted the Belfast Agreement was still intact. The possibility of talks being held in a less pressured atmosphere was being suggested by some of the parties.
The "failsafe" legislation would pass Westminster next week "because that may become of use in the future," she added. Mr Adams has claimed the legislation goes beyond the terms of the Belfast Agreement.
The SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, said despite the farcical nature of the Assembly sitting, it could not be seen to sound the death knell of the Belfast Agreement.
"What we are attempting to do in Northern Ireland is of such vast importance to everyone who lives here that we simply cannot give up, or even become unduly pessimistic," he said. The SDLP believed the principle of setting up an inclusive executive would be fulfilled and that decommissioning would happen.
Mr Mallon said he did not regret his decision to resign and was confident it was the right thing to do. His actions had already had a "substantial effect" on efforts to save the process. Mr Trimble "might catch up" and resign his position also. Mallon.
A list of issues that need to be addressed in the review were spelt out yesterday by the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley. The RUC, prisoners, decommissioning and cross-Border bodies all needed to be discussed, he said.
"But we pointed out that the first thing we wanted to discuss was the Prime Minister's pledges because he has already said it was the way the agreement was going to be implemented," Dr Paisley said.
The Alliance party leader, Mr Sean Neeson, said there were serious difficulties in the process, but they could be overcome if trust and confidence were built up between the parties. He believed the review process would begin in the very near future.
Ms Monica McWilliams of the Women's Coalition warned the parties that they were entering the "last-chance saloon" with regard to the successful implementation of the Belfast Agreement.