A number of issues affecting the North's peace process have to be still resolved, a leading Sinn Féin figure claimed today.
As US president George W Bush flew to Belfast at a critical stage in the process, the party's national chairman MR Mitchel McLaughlin said it was too early to be optimistic about efforts to secure the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement.
"I would not use the word optimism at this stage," the Foyle MLA said.
"However our negotiators remain very focused and very determined. Their focus has been on the outstanding issues from the March talks in Hillsborough.
"Quite clearly there remains issues which we have not as yet been able to close but it is very much a work in progress."
Mr McLaughlin was commenting after a warning to Republicans from Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble that he needed substantial progress to be made in the peace process by Thursday night.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Taoiseach Mr Ahern are expected to unveil their plan on Thursday for tying down all loose ends in the Agreement.
The blueprint is expected to address a whole range of issues including what is required from the IRA and loyalist paramilitaries to cement the peace process, radical plans for the scaling down of the British army presence in Northern Ireland, equality and human rights issues.
The two governments are also expected to address in separate documents how paramilitary suspects who fled Northern Ireland during the Troubles could return home and the vexed question of how parties who reneged on their commitments under the Belfast Agreement should be punished.
Mr Trimble today signalled that he wanted swift movement from the IRA abandoning all paramilitary activity after the release of the two governments' blue print.
Mr McLaughlin today said his party was still looking for progress on policing, equality and human rights.
He said: "We are not yet satisfied with what we have seen on policing and we are obviously cautious about those proposals until they are in our hands.
"We have had very specific arguments around the timetable for the transfer of policing and justice powers to the Assembly and we continue to have concerns about the commitment to the equality and Human Rights agendas.
"Anybody who knows Sinn Féin knows our commitment to this process, that we will continue to visit and revisit the issue and revisit it again, if necessary, to get it right.
"Up until now the track record of the British government and indeed both governments does not inspire much confidence but if we get the acts of completion we require, then I have no doubt that Republicans will respond positively."
PA