THE Ulster Unionist Party leader, Mr David Trimble, has said he is seeking a timetable for the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons from the British and Irish governments, and their response to this demand would be "crucial".
Speaking yesterday at the Northern Ireland Forum on the two governments' joint paper on decommissioning, Mr Trimble said: "The problem is that the timetable is missing. The objective is stated and I am certain that the mechanisms are going to be effective, but there is not a timetable on decommissioning to match the timetable for the talks".
The Ulster Unionist Party leader said he was challenging the British and Irish governments on these points "to satisfy us that the resolute commitment they spell out in their first sentence will in fact be carried into effect during negotiations . . . I await to see their response because that will be crucial".
Mr Trimble urged unionists not to rush to judgment on the paper "either today or next week. We have to see how the situation develops."
However, he was immediately rebuked by the Democratic Unionist Party leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, who said: "The only way to defeat it is for all unionists to say No now and stand together on this issue, for if not, they [Sinn Fein] will be at the table.
In a carefully worded speech, Mr Trimble said it was important to emphasise that the paper contained a commitment to actual decommissioning occurring during talks.
"This was emphasised three times by the Prime Minister on Wednesday," he said.
Mr Trimble also pointed out that there was "a mechanism introduced to ensure that all parties would be able to guarantee that the talks stop if decommissioning does not take place" which he said was significant.
However, he described as "a significant mistake" the decision to set a definite time scale for Sinn Fein to enter talks alter an IRA ceasefire, saying the crucial thing was the "quality" of the ceasefire.
Mr Trimble also criticised the contacts between the British government and Sinn Fein before the publication of the document, saying it was clear they had "evolved into an exchange that came very close to negotiations".