Mr David Trimble is expected to reappoint Ulster Unionist ministers to the Northern Ireland Executive within the next 24 hours and to seek re-election as First Minister in the Assembly next week.
This emerged last night as Mr Trimble led an Ulster Unionist delegation to see Gen John de Chastelain, chairman of the Independent International Decommissioning Commission, in one of a series of responses to the IRA statement confirming that it had begun the process of disarmament.
The decision to re-appoint Sir Reg Empey, Mr Michael McGimpsey and Mr Sam Foster to the posts they vacated last week would spare the Northern Ireland Secretary, Dr John Reid, any need to consider the fresh suspension of the Assembly and other institutions established under the Belfast Agreement by tomorrow night's midnight deadline.
The expectation in political circles last night was that the Democratic Unionists would follow suit, possibly this time nominating Mr Peter Robinson and the Rev William McCrea to take up the party's two posts as "ministers in opposition".
However, it now seems clear that Mr Trimble will not seek re-election as First Minister until after an emergency meeting of the Ulster Unionist Party's policy- making Executive Committee scheduled for Saturday morning.
The leadership intention obviously is to win the Executive's approval for a return to full participation in the Executive and the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC).
It would also have it instruct all 28 UUP Assembly members to back Mr Trimble's return as First Minister in the Assembly vote.
If the dissident North Down member, Mr Peter Weir, accepted that instruction, then Mr Trimble, with the additional support of the two Progressive Unionist members, would seem assured support from the necessary majority of unionists participating in the vote.
However, usually reliable sources last night suggested Mr Weir's backing was far from guaranteed, as Mr Jeffrey Donaldson MP called on Gen de Chastelain to say whether the IRA move represented "a one-off gesture" or the beginning of "a credible process leading to total disarmament as set down in the remit of the international commission" which is scheduled to expire next February.
Speaking to The Irish Times from Singapore, where he was en route to Australia, Mr Donaldson said if there was no assurance that this was the beginning of a process leading to total disarmament then "there's no way we can give guarantees that our ministers will remain in office".
Mr Donaldson's suggestion that the IRA action "might provide a temporary fix rather than a permanent solution" did appear to bolster the belief of leading Trimble supporters that the Lagan Valley MP may not be inclined to resume his opposition to the leadership at least at this point.
Speaking ahead of last night's meeting with Gen de Chastelain, UUP sources appeared unable to clarify the meaning of the IRA declaration that they had "implemented the scheme" previously agreed with the IIDC for putting weapons beyond use.
Specifically the sources could not say whether that scheme had been intended to cover all IRA arms, or simply the contents of those dumps previously seen by the international inspectors, apparently because Gen de Chastelain had declined to divulge the detail to them when the agreement was announced last August.
Asked on Channel 4 News last night what "practically" had happened in terms of disarmament, the Sinn FΘin president, Mr Gerry Adams, said: "I don't think that's pertinent if I may say so."