The British and Irish governments were at odds last night with both the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein in their assessment of the degree of progress made in the Stormont talks to resolve the decommissioning impasse.
Spokesmen for both Mr Ahern and Mr Blair gave positive and upbeat reports on the negotiations. Sinn Fein admitted some progress was made but warned against excessive optimism. The UUP leader, Mr David Trimble said flatly: "Little actual progress has been made."
However, it has been ascertained that substantial progress was made in talks with Sinn Fein. Political sources said the party had hardened its verbal commitment to the principle of decommissioning and to using its influence to persuade the IRA to dispose of weapons, provided this was done as part of the full implementation of the terms of the Belfast Agreement.
Official sources denied a timetable was envisaged. It was more a question of Gen John de Chastelain outlining in his report a series of stages, intermediate and final, for fulfilling the decommissioning requirement in the context of full implementation of the agreement.
"Most of the day was spent on Sinn Fein. The governments think they have a deal on that side and they are trying to sell it to Trim ble." However, while the UUP leader's demeanour was encouraging, his bottom-line position was still unclear.
It had been hoped at one stage that negotiations might even be concluded yesterday but Mr Trim ble's consent to this could not be secured and there was concern he had fallen back to his original demand for prior decommissioning. However the governments were said to be holding firm to the view that this was not contained in the Belfast Agreement.
Senior political insiders said Sinn Fein had taken a "helpful" attitude in negotiations. It is understood the two governments have accepted that if the negotiations collapse, it will not be the fault of Sinn Fein and that as a consequence, there will be no "punishment" for republicans in the form of dropping or suspending aspects of the Belfast Agreement which they favour, such as prisoner releases and police reform.
Mr Blair's demeanour in negotiations was described as "steely" as he sought to ensure the parties met tonight's deadline for a deal, set by Downing Street six weeks ago. In the manner of Senator George Mitchell during the Good Friday talks, sources said Mr Blair had made clear this was the last chance for securing agreement with himself as a central player. Sources said: "He's here to get a result."
The SDLP role was described as that of a facilitator, seeking to mark out common ground between unionists and republicans. Sources close to republican thinking claimed the UUP leadership was engaged in "a major poor-mouth exercise", highlighting the difficulties of selling any agreement to the party's members.
While today's talks may well resume on a cautiously hopeful note, sources said the mood could change if unionist nerves failed. "There could be some seriously jumpy people by evening."
The Taoiseach has made it a priority to seek the greatest possible clarity in relation to the positions of Sinn Fein and the UUP. The key issue was to discover what the unionists meant when they sought a credible start to the process of decommissioning and if this necessitated guns in advance of government.
It has emerged that Friday's meeting between the UUP and the two prime ministers was an intensely heated affair despite the claim by Mr Ahern and Mr Blair in their joint statement that all talks were "good-natured".
Despite public optimism, official sources were privately more circumspect about the prospects today. "I would be cautious about trying to `call' it at this stage," senior sources said. They expected that "David Trimble was not going to play the final card until the very end".
The two prime ministers left Castle Buildings at lunchtime to travel to nearby Stormont House for a half-hour meeting with Gen de Chastelain. They asked him, in the light of progress being made in the talks, to postpone delivery of his report on decommissioning which had been scheduled for delivery yesterday evening.
His report, revised to take account of the latest developments, is due to be presented today. Mr Blair and Mr Ahern meet over breakfast before the resumption of talks at 9.30 a.m.