A Sinn Fein statement condemning violence and the appointment of an IRA interlocutor to negotiate with Gen John de Chastelain's decommissioning body are key elements in the deal being worked out at Stormont this week, senior sources say.
The Ulster Unionist leader, Mr David Trimble, was last night briefing his Assembly party on the package. "The genuine sense is that he's going for it," insiders said, but it was still unclear whether he could win the support of his colleagues.
He has convened a further meeting of his Assembly party for later today, at which he is expected to deliver his verdict on the proposed deal to break the deadlock in the peace process.
The indication last night, according to senior party sources, was that Mr Trimble was "very close" to gambling his political career on the quality of a republican "commitment" to a decommissioning process to follow the creation of Northern Ireland's power-sharing executive.
The indications were that last night's discussions among the Ulster Unionists "did not go terribly well". However the prospect of renegotiation of current proposals was being ruled out by informed sources. An IRA statement is also expected but senior republican sources were most emphatic that it would not contain any declaration whatsoever that the "war" was over nor any guarantees of decommissioning. Any prospect of decommissioning in the short term was very firmly rejected by authoritative republican insiders.
However the IRA statement is expected to be broadly supportive of the peace process.
While the appointment of an interlocutor is a significant departure for the IRA, unionists will have to decide whether it represents the beginning of a credible process of decommissioning. Recent remarks by the Northern Secretary, Mr Peter Mandelson, on the issue were considered helpful to Mr Trimble's position.
Nationalist sources in the peace process said that "the deal is in place" but there were still some "loose ends" to be tied up and there were continuing fears that the unionist leadership might "lose its nerve".
These issues of detail were said to be of little significance compared with the "huge issues" which had been surmounted, mainly the decommissioning problem which was being dealt with by the appointment of the IRA representative as part of a sequence of events intended to lead to eventual full disposal of weapons provided this took place in the context of the implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
Other elements in what was described as a "very detailed" package were believed to include a strong statement from Sinn Fein deploring acts of political violence including the so-called "punishment beatings" carried out by paramilitaries.
Senior sources in the talks were resigned to the prospect of further fragmentation in unionist and republican ranks. This will cause problems for the pro-agreement parties in the Assembly as Mr Trimble may well lose a number of Assembly members to his political opponents.
The nationalist side in the talks hoped for a quick decision by the unionists last night but the indications were in the words of one well-placed source, "They can't make up their mind."
Depending on the outcome of the unionist deliberations, a series of statements is likely to be issued before the end of the week.
These would come from Senator Mitchell, Gen de Chastelain, the UUP and Sinn Fein. There is also likely to be an input from the SDLP and the loyalist parties. Gen de Chastelain's comments on the manner in which decommissioning can be brought about will be of critical importance.
Unlike the events of Good Friday last year, the culmination of the review is likely to be low-key. It will be the announcement of a sequencing process rather than a declaration that a successful conclusion has been reached.
In an unusual show of solidarity, Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists issued virtually identical statements yesterday afternoon criticising press speculation.