Sinn Féin's Mr Martin McGuinness will today have meetings on Capitol Hill in Washington as Northern Secretary Dr John Reid steps up the pressure to rescue devolved government in the North.
Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble's withdrawal of his ministers from the Executive becomes effective at midnight on Thursday unless the IRA starts to decommission its arsenal of weapons.
At that point Dr Reid will have to decide whether to suspend devolution again or call new elections to the Assembly.
Dr Reid said the two issues that needed to be resolved were putting arms beyond use and stabilising the political institutions of Northern Ireland.
"Everybody knows what we have to do. We have very little time indeed now to do that. We are fast running out of time on this impasse," he said. "We have come a long, long way but now it is absolutely time-critical".
Although he said time was running out for republican action, Sinn Féin President Mr Gerry Adams accused British Prime Minister Mr Tony Blair of playing too tactical a game and of "pandering" to conservatives within his party and to unionism.
That Sinn Féin leaders are talking openly about achieving IRA decommissioning is seen by observers as a sign the IRA is ready to act, however.
Republicans want a commitment from Mr Trimble that if they start to get rid of the guns he will go back into government with them and operate it fully.
Mr Adams indicated yesterday he was confident Mr Trimble would live up to his side of the bargain but urged more action from the British Government. Mr Adams said if the IRA acted it would because "it wants to rescue the process".
PA