WITH the multi party Stormont talks edging towards a critical stage. the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, and the Northern Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, met for several hours in Belfast last night but produced no fresh initiative to resolve the deadlock on decommissioning.
The Ministers and their senior colleagues conducted the first full meeting of the Anglo Irish Conference since last July at Stormont Castle, as pressure mounted on their governments to find an initiative to bypass the obstacle which has held up progress in the peace process for months.
When they emerged from the meeting after 11 p.m., both men reiterated their belief that adherence by all parties to the Mitchell Report on decommissioning offered the best chance of progress.
Sir Patrick rejected the view of the loyalist fringe parties that the Stormont talks were near collapse, but he conceded that there was a danger that they could "run out of steam" unless all participants really put their backs into keeping them going".
Both he and Mr Spring refused to be drawn on suggestions that the UUP has hardened its stance on decommissioning, and the Northern Secretary also deflected questions about recent indications of indirect communication of messages or "verbal signals" between Sinn Fein and the British government.
A joint communique issued after last night's meeting revealed that a wide range of issues, concerning both political and security matters, had been discussed.
It reaffirmed the hope of both governments that there would be an early and unequivocal restoration of the IRA ceasefire "as the necessary enabling condition for a fully inclusive talks process".
Earlier yesterday, the Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, insisted that the British Prime Minister, Mr Major, held the key to reviving the process.
He said that Sinn Fein was still waiting for the British government to respond to "different suggestions that have been made about getting a complete restoration of the peace process".
Mr Adams hinted that the Irish side should press the British government for a reply to points which have been indirectly communicated from Sinn Fein to Mr Major up to four weeks ago, through the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume.
Sinn Fein is believed to have sought firm indications from the British in regard to the party's entry to the talks process following a possible renewal of the IRA ceasefire.
Mr Adams suggested that the Irish Government and the Northern Secretary were very aware of what was now required. "It is a question of whether Patrick Mayhew has either the courage or the will to do what is right," he said.
Mr Spring and Mr Mayhew are believed to have exchanged ideas last night on how the continuing talks process could be managed to give time and space to manoeuvre the conditions for Sinn Fein participation in the wake of an acceptable IRA cessation. But they gave no public indication of any new initiatives.
With the independent chairman, former Senator George Mitchell, due back from the US at the weekend to take the chair again at a crucial plenary session of the talks process next Monday, time is running out for the construction of a formula which would allow progress to be made before Christmas.
Speculation is increasing that long adjournment of the talks may be contrived, to permit breathing space as the sensitive issue of Sinn Fein joining in is addressed and a method sought to circumvent the decommissioning deadlock and advance the talks agenda.
SDLP sources were slightly more optimistic after the party's delegates discussed the decommissioning row directly with UUP delegates yesterday at Castle Buildings, on the fringes of the talks process.
The SDLP had expressed grave concern over the most recent UUP stance on decommissioning, which indicated that unionists would require a substantial hand over of weapons before Sinn Fein could join in substantive negotiations.
Neither of the leaders of the two parties, Mr John Hume and Mr David Trimble, participated in yesterday's meeting, but further direct discussions are expected after next Monday's plenary session.