Sinn Féin has issued a qualified acceptance of the St Andrews proposals published last month by the Irish and British governments to restore Northern Ireland's political institutions.
Following a three-hour meeting of the party's ardchomhairle in Dublin, Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the decision was "another movement along this tortuous, but nevertheless hopeful path".
The decision eases pressures on the Irish and British governments, who had insisted that all parties should declare their attitudes to the proposals outlined in Scotland by Friday.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said he welcomed "Sinn Féin's positive assessment of the St Andrew's Agreement. The statement is in line with what we had been expecting at this time.
"Sinn Féin recognises that the agreement has the potential to move the process forward. A commitment to powersharing and policing by all are at the core of the St Andrew's Agreement.
"The governments will continue to work on issues of continuing concern. In light of the responses of the parties the governments are hopeful that it will be possible to move forward from Friday next with the schedule outlined in Scotland," he said. The British government also welcomed the outcome of the Sinn Féin meeting.
However, the party made it clear that the lack of agreement with the DUP over the transfer of powers over policing from the House of Commons to Stormont was a major stumbling block.
Though Sinn Féin is prepared to "continue to work", Mr Adams will only propose to the ardchomhairle that it should hold an ardfheis to drop Sinn Féin's objections to the PSNI when "these matters are resolved".
The language of the motion adopted by delegates was cautious: "Subject to delivery of these issues, the commitments set out in the governments' St Andrews' statement could represent a way forward.
"The ardchomhairle mandates the party president and national officer boards to pursue all of this and to report back to the ardchomhairle.
"We reiterate our view that the issue of policing and justice is a matter for the two governments and all of the political parties."
On Saturday, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern tried to downplay the scale of the problem posed by policing, pointing out that the St Andrews proposals suggested that the transfer should take place by May 2008.
The document states the view of both governments that "it is our view that implementation of the agreement should be sufficient to build the community confidence necessary for the Assembly to request the devolution of criminal justice and policing from the British Government by May 2008".
However, DUP MP Nigel Dodds last week warned that a deal between the parties was unlikely given Sinn Féin's demand that a timetable for devolution must be in place before it agrees to call an ardfheis.
Speaking after the Sinn Féin meeting at a hotel in Dublin airport, Mr Adams said there had been "robust discussion", but the membership wanted to know when justice and policing powers would be taken over by Stormont.
DUP leader Rev Ian Paisley's refusal to attend meetings of the Committee on the Preparation for Government was "totally, totally out of order.
"[ It was] bad enough that people did not go to it, but worse that the British government have since refused to call it. I have raised this with Tony Blair and Peter Hain," he told The Irish Times.
Questioned about the DUP's demands for a pledge of office by the first and deputy first minister on November 24th, Mr Adams insisted: "The governments have to stick by their own joint statement."
