The prospect of a radical shift in Orange Order thinking on dealing with nationalist residents' groups has receded since the order's Grand Master appeared to backtrack on comments he made at the weekend.
In Ballymena on Sunday Mr Robert Saulters expressed a seeming willingness to speak with the head of the Garvaghy Road residents' group, Mr Breandan Mac Cionnaith, notwithstanding his prison conviction on republican charges. But yesterday he was claiming there had been "confusion" over his comments.
Sinn Fein and Alliance accused senior elements in the Orange Order of pressurising Mr Saulters into altering his position. The Alliance president, Dr Philip McGarry, said Orangemen had spoken to leading loyalists in the past, including the LVF leader, Billy Wright, and had no excuse not to speak to nationalist groups.
An official spokesman for the order said no pressure had been put on Mr Saulters, while some Orange sources suggested that Mr Saulters was not truly conscious of the import of his remarks in Ballymena.
Mr Saulters's Ballymena comments were viewed as significant. Effectively, they appeared to be a recommendation to this Saturday's special meeting of the 150member Grand Orange Lodge, its ruling body, that the order should speak to nationalist groups even if they were headed by former republican prisoners, or Sinn Fein members or supporters.
Mr Saulters was not returning telephone calls from The Irish Times yesterday and the spokesman said he would not be speaking directly to the media for the present.
In the statement issued from Orange headquarters in Belfast yesterday, Mr Saulters said there appeared to be confusion over his Ballymena remarks. "Orangemen cannot in all conscience talk to certain residents' groups that are manipulated by Sinn Fein/IRA," his statement added.
"The possibility of talking directly to such groups can only be considered when it is finally determined that Sinn Fein/IRA declare their terrorist campaign is over for good, that their illegal weapons are decommissioned, and genuine remorse is publicly expressed.
"Whilst I will suggest to the Grand Lodge to indicate to me if there is a willingness to alter our policy, until such a time arrives and these conditions exist, I personally will not be calling for the policy to be changed," Mr Saulters's statement concluded.
This position would appear at odds with what he said in Ballymena on Sunday. Asked then if he would speak directly to Mr Mac Cionnaith, he said, "If it comes down to that, and if we can help the Portadown brethren, I want to do all I can."
Mr Saulters added: "I will be putting this point [about direct talks with the Garvaghy residents' association] to them [the Grand Lodge], and it will be up to Grand Lodge. They are the governing body and they will make the decision on which we will go in the future.
"Looking at it from the long term, the new Assembly being set up, Sinn Fein could be in the position of being ministers, and through time we will have to talk to them."
Asked by a BBC reporter if it would have been helpful to the Orange Order's case if the order were to confront Mr Mac Cionnaith "head on", he replied: "Yes. I think this came out last year at [proximity] talks in Hillsborough. I thought really if they had been confronted at that time things could have been a bit better for this year.
"The whole argument of McKenna last year was he couldn't come face to face with the Orange brethren. I thought if there had been face-to-face [talks] it would have called his bluff for the future," he added.
Asked if it would benefit the Orange Order to confront residents' groups, he said, "I think it would. We can't have this type of mayhem on the streets as we have had this year. 1997 wasn't too bad, but 1998 has really gone over the top."
The Orange spokesman said Mr Saulters was not referring to talks happening in the short term. "People are saying talks with nationalist residents' groups are inevitable, but that could be in 10 years' time. Talks can only happen when, as Robert Saulters said, the IRA war is over, when they've handed over their weapons, and expressed remorse for their actions," he said.
This is not the first time there has been confusion over comments by Mr Saulters, who took over as Orange Order Grand Master in December 1996. In May last year he said there had been a "misunderstanding" over a statement issued by Mr John Hume that he (Mr Saulters) would talk to the Garvaghy residents' group at a meeting convened by the SDLP leader.
Mr Hume, expressing surprise at Mr Saulters's refusal to meet Mr Mac Cionnaith, said he had cleared his statement with Mr Saulters before issuing it.
Such incidents create confusion over what is Mr Saulters's true position on contentious parades.
It is unclear whether he is trying to subtly nudge the order into agreeing to engage in dialogue with residents' groups - as the British government, the Parades Commission, and many political parties believe is the only way forward - or whether he is merely guilty of verbal blundering.
Certainly, he has not taken any decisive position on the way forward. Again this could be interpreted as indecision, or a strategy that by at least suggesting direct contact with nationalist organisations, however ambiguously, he is moving the Orange Order closer to the day when it will agree to talk to Mr Mac Cionnaith and others.
In the meantime there are many hurdles to be overcome before the marching season is completed.
Tonight Orangemen will stage a rally in support of the Portadown Orangemen in Newtownabbey, in north Belfast. Mr Mac Cionnaith has accused Portadown loyalists of trying to intimidate local nationalists living off the Garvaghy Road.
In the next 10 days efforts will continue to try to resolve the second most contentious loyal order parade of the year, the Apprentice Boys march in Derry, on Saturday week. The loyal orders' hardening approach to direct dialogue, as exemplified by yesterday's supposed clarifying statement from Mr Saulters, proves just how difficult it will be to find compromise in Derry.