The outgoing Deputy First Minister remains hopeful that the two governments and the parties can resolve the problems of the Belfast Agreement.
Mr Mark Durkan thinks an enhanced Belfast Agreement, which will earn confidence and trust, can be rescued from suspension.
He told The Irish Times yesterday that a reconvened Forum for Peace and Reconciliation could also play a role in bolstering the pro-agreement parties on an all-Ireland basis.
Blame for the crisis can be shared, he suggested.
"Unionists had increasing cause for doubt because of the continued existence and alleged activity of the IRA. Nationalists and republicans have had increasing cause for doubt because of the variable unionist commitment to the agreement and its institutions."
There are compound confidence issues, he said, and these need to be dealt with.
He said the agreement is about a future without paramilitarism. "That means that people have to be able to clearly articulate that that involves a future without the IRA, the UVF, and the UDA."
He said if those who helped bring about ceasefire could now bring about "cease-army" it would "help things considerably".
Mr Durkan stressed the need to work on all other aspects of the agreement which have yet "to be fully developed", by which is meant the human rights, justice and policing elements.
Referring to a reconvened Forum for Peace and Reconciliation, Mr Durkan said: "It provides a useful reminder that the agreement belongs to the people of Ireland and was mandated by them."
He added that it underlined the contribution to the political process by the parties in the Republic and provides a platform that allows the desire for a future without paramilitaries to be seen as something much wider than an untoward unionist demand or a high-handed requirement from the British government.
He said it could provide an opportunity for all parties, not just those in the North, to come to the aid of the agreement.