The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, has dismissed his absence from the opening of the full-scale, multi-party talks in Belfast today as of little consequence because nothing was going to happen.
He said it might appear strange that he would be in Washington when the talks begin their substantive phase after over a year of preliminaries. "But if you realise that nothing of significance is going to happen in Belfast tomorrow, then it doesn't feel strange because tomorrow is merely a formal launch of the substantive negotiations.
"Perhaps it should be more than a formal launch but it can't be because we still don't have an agenda."
Mr Trimble, who is accompanied by Mr John Taylor MP and Mr Jeffrey Donaldson MP, said he had been trying for the last six weeks to get other parties to talk about the agenda "but they have been too busy talking about other things".
Although there was still no agenda, it was decided to have a formal launch "rather than to have another week go by with the danger appearing that there is no progress". This was "inconvenient" for the UUP because of the Washington visit which was arranged weeks ago.
However, he did not think it was necessary to cancel the trip because "our chief negotiator, Reg Empey, ably supported by other members of the negotiating team, will be perfectly capable of dealing with anything and everything that will arise in Belfast this week".
He added: "Apart from that, telephones do work."
The UUP delegation expects to meet President Clinton today when it visits the White House for discussions with his National Security Adviser, Mr Sandy Berger. It is almost certain that Mr Clinton will informally "drop by" during this meeting.
The UUP members will also visit the State Department to meet the Under-Secretary for Political Affairs, Mr Thomas Pickering.
Mr Trimble said yesterday he would raise the question of the list of terrorist organisations being compiled by the State Department and due for release this week.
He said he wanted the Continuity Army Council, or the Continuity IRA - believed responsible for the recent Markethill bomb - to be put on the list of terrorist organisations around the world.
Asked if Sinn Fein should be on the list, Mr Trimble said the IRA was at present on the list so the question arose if it should be taken off the list because of the present ceasefire.
He said Sinn Fein and the IRA were "inextricably linked" so putting the IRA on the list "achieves the objective".
On the negotiations in Belfast, Mr Trimble said a "big problem" would be strand two dealing with relations between Northern Ireland and the Republic. Cross-Border practical co-operation was to be expected but nationalists wanted a "special relationship" with the Republic.
For unionists, a special relationship only with the Republic would "send the wrong signal". Unionists preferred this issue to be dealt with in a broader context which would include relations with Scotland and Wales and their future devolved administrations.