A loyalist paramilitary boss today ruled out imminent disarmament as he came face-to-face with Northern Ireland's chief constable.
Ulster Defence Association commander Jackie McDonald also predicted direct talks with republicans were inevitable if the North's new, devolved government succeeds.
McDonald, one of the most powerful and influential men in the UDA, shook hands with Chief Constable Sir Hugh Orde at a conference in Belfast examining how to shift loyalist communities away from crime and violence.
Even though the IRA has abandoned its guns and called off its armed campaign, McDonald said the people he represents still don't feel safe.
He said: "If there's political stability, and there still isn't, and the loyalist people don't feel threatened, it's an inevitability in a future normal society that there's no need for weapons.
"It (decommissioning) is a distinct possibility, but the way things stand at the moment, it's still not on the radar."
The loyalist chief, who runs the organisation's South Belfast Brigade and sits on its inner council, said: "The British and Irish Governments basically bought the weapons off the IRA at the end of the day.
"Until loyalism is afforded the same respect and dialogue about their future, then the loyalist people still do feel threatened and still do feel left out."
But McDonald was heartened by the workshop attended by police chiefs, business leaders and clergymen to discuss a major conflict transformation initiative in working class Protestant areas.