The Rev Ian Paisley has said Provisional IRA disarmament will have to be permanent, verified and accompanied by the dismantling of the organisation's structures if it is to satisfy unionists.
With speculation mounting that the Provisionals are planning to seal arms' dumps soon, the DUP leader said unionists would not be duped by "smoke and mirrors".
"If decommissioning is to take place, then it must be seen to be done," he said. "Too often in the past the unionist population have been deceived by empty words and hollow gestures. Only if any decommissioning is genuinely verified will it satisfy unionists.
"Decommissioning must also be permanent. There must be no way back for the weapons and explosives to be re-commissioned. Indeed, if decommissioning is for real, then it must be accompanied by the dismantling of the terrorist structures. There can be no legitimate reasons to keep the machinery of war intact." Dr Paisley was speaking as the North prepared for the possible withdrawal later this week of Ulster Unionist ministers from the Executive in protest at the lack of action on Provisional IRA decommissioning.
UUP leader, Mr David Trimble, yesterday held "a constructive meeting" in Washington with President Bush's special adviser on Northern Ireland, Mr Richard Haass, according to a party spokesman.
Mr Trimble also met US Congressmen and briefed American journalists on the current state of the peace process. He is due to return to London tomorrow and is expected to begin pulling his ministers out of the Executive shortly afterwards, if there is no movement on decommissioning.
Sinn FΘin MP, Mr Martin McGuinness, yesterday urged Mr Trimble to think again. The UUP leader should be working "flat out" to save the political process, he said.
"There is a democratic imperative on all of us - and not least David Trimble - to ensure the people's institutions survive. Even though we have had many difficulties within this process, there is a resounding majority of our people out there, unionists, loyalists, republicans and nationalists who want the peace process to continue," Mr McGuinness said.
He refused to speculate on whether the Provisional IRA would make a gesture on decommissioning in advance of the UUP withdrawal from the Executive. The SDLP accused Sinn FΘin and the SDLP of attempting to dilute the Belfast Agreement.
Assembly member, Mr Mark Durkan, who takes over from John Hume as party leader next month, said: "The only way to realistically move our society forward is one based on an inclusive and balanced approach - an approach which the SDLP pioneered."
Meanwhile, it has been disclosed that senior UUP members have been involved in secret meetings with the UDA and the UVF in recent months. It is understood the talks focused on the political situation and ongoing loyalist violence.
South Antrim MP, Mr David Burnside, held what he said was a "private" meeting with the UDA in north Belfast. He said he had asked the organisation to desist from violence. North Belfast Assembly member, Mr Fred Cobain, said he had met UDA, but not UVF, leaders.
SDLP deputy leader, Mr Seamus Mallon, yesterday said the Belfast Agreement had embedded the principles of partnership, human rights and equality in the North. Speaking at the official opening of the Equality Commission's new headquarters in Belfast, he said the Executive was committed to such principles.
"We have been working, for the first time ever in our society, to establish a political system that enjoys the support of all the people it serves," he said.