"Nothing to respond to" - Trimble

Speaking after a two-hour meeting of Ulster Unionist Party officers, Mr Trimble expressed concern about the proposed amnesty for paramilitary fugitives, as well as the absence of a response from the SDLP to new policing proposals. He is due to brief his assembly party and peers tomorrow.

The focus will now fall on the IRA, who have agreed a decommissioning scheme but have yet to begin putting arms beyond use. A start to that process would put David Trimble under pressure to put himself forward again as First Minister before the weekend deadline.

The Taoiseach and the Northern Secretary both said that the IRA's proposal to the decommissioning body has the potential to resolve the arms issue.

Bertie Ahern warmly welcomed the commission's statement on decommissioning as "significant and historic". Mr Ahern said it was clearly "enough to move the stalled peace process forward".

Mr Ahern hoped that the issue of the start of the disarmament process will also move on in the next few days. "That will allow us to get on with the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement which brings in all of the other issues of policing, demilitarisation and the stability of the institutions as well," said Mr Ahern.

He said that people should see the historic significance of it rather than look for difficulties.

In a statement issued through Downing Street, Prime Minister Tony Blair, who is on holiday in Mexico, said: "This is an important step forward which I warmly welcome and on which I hope we can build rapidly. I believe it has now the potential to resolve the arms issue to everyone's satisfaction."

The Northern Secretary said that he believes today's statement could resolve the issue of decommissioning. Dr John Reid also warmly welcomed the statement, saying: "It is an important and I believe very significant step forward. I believe it provides the basis and the potential for rapidly resolving the arms issue.

Dr Reid pointed out that General de Chastelain had asked three questions to the IRA in his last report about its commitment to disarmament, its method of disarming and the time scale for putting weapons completely and verifiably beyond use. He said that today's statement had answered two of those questions.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams declared the statement as a "hugely historical breakthrough" and said that the two governments and the parties should "now move speedily towards the full implementation of the Good Friday Agreement."

Dissident Unionist MP Jeffrey Donaldson gave a guarded reaction to the proposals. "We will want to know that any proposals on decommissioning fully comply with the legislation in that the weapons must be rendered permanently unusable and unavailable," said Mr Donaldson.

The Reverend Ian Paisley has held talks with General de Chastelain earlier today. The DUP leader said that the General had admitted that the deal with the IRA had been discussed yesterday. The party was told by the General that the date when decommissioning will be carried out would remain secret.

Dismissing the statement, DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson warned that there was no indication of when the process would begin. "This is just a further delaying tactic to gain further concessions," he said. "All they are indicating is that they can agree a method. They are not saying when it's going to happen and people must know what the mechanism is," said the East Belfast MP.