The Northern peace process will stay deadlocked unless republicans comes clean over the three suspected IRA men arrested in Colombia, Ulster Unionist leader Mr David Trimble warned today.
He said the detention of the three had completely undermined the republican movement's credibility.
"I cannot see this issue being resolved in the next few weeks and I cannot see circumstances where we would be able to resume office unless republicans this time come clean, and seriously try to convince the people of Northern Ireland that they do mean to commit themselves to exclusively peaceful and democratic means".
But Sinn Féin president Mr Gerry Adams has said the three who were arrested in Bogota earlier this month were not IRA members.
Two senior RUC officers are in Colombia helping with the investigation into claims the men were training members of the terrorist rebel group FARC, but it could be at least another eight months before the trio stand trial.
Mr Trimble said the responses to the arrests by Sinn Féin and Mr Adams were nauseating, and said: "I think it's time Mr Adams had an encounter with the truth and told the rest of us the truth".
The pro-Agreement parties are preparing to begin new talks to try to agree a settlement on disarmament, demilitarisation and policing by the September 23rd deadline.
The talks are due to restart next week, but if there is no deal in just over three weeks, the British government will be forced to suspend the Stormont Assembly for a third time.
Mr Trimble also signalled today his party would join the new policing board, despite opposition by some of his MPs. But he also made it clear that at this stage the Colombian affair overshadowed everything.
PA