A MEETING of the Anglo Irish Conference in Belfast on Wednesday is unlikely to precipitate an IRA ceasefire, according to reliable sources.
Talks involving the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, and the Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, will review recent progress and explore the difficulties that remain in securing an unequivocal IRA ceasefire and the entry of Sinn Fein to all party negotiations. But a statement of clarification by the British Prime Minister, Mr Major, will probably be required before radical movement can take place.
Clarification of British government thinking could take the form of a public speech by Mr Major or, as on two occasions in recent years, a newspaper article.
Last week it was hoped the undertakings sought by republicans would be delivered this week, but that may not now happen. If it took a few extra days to provide the necessary framework for an unequivocal IRA ceasefire, the delay would be well worth it, one source said.
The exchange of conciliatory messages by Sir Patrick and Mr Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein last Thursday and Friday has helped to move the two sides closer together. But a gap still remains to be bridged.
Government sources said last better than they had been for some time in the North. But they were loath to make any predictions about an early IRA ceasefire.