The Taoiseach has warned that work on the peace process may collapse for the next few months if agreement cannot be reached at this stage.
But he said it was his view that it had not yet reached a stage where they would have to call it a day.
Speaking in Athens where he is attending an EU Summit, Mr Ahern said he would continue his consultations with Tony Blair this evening.
Tonight in a statement, the IRA said it had demonstrated its commitment to creating a just and lasting peace through the maintenance of its cessation and through a number of significant initiatives.
It also said it was ready to publish Monday's finalised statement to the two governments in due course.
Earlier, the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister discussed the state of the peace process during a meeting on the fringes of the summit.
After the meeting the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, said the Government was determined to ensure that Assembly elections would go ahead as planned on 29 May.
Irish and British officials are set to continue to hold discussions with the North's political parties in an effort to deal with the difficulties.
These centre on finding a formula to show that all sides of the Republican movement are unambiguously committed to exclusively peaceful means.
Loyalist decommissioning meeting
Representatives of the UDA and UFF have held disarmament talks with the international decommissioning body in Belfast.
Members of the two organisations, which recently called a 12 month ceasefire, met General John De Chastelain, the Canadian officer appointed to oversee the destruction of all paramilitary weapons.
Today's meeting was confirmed by a spokesperson for the Ulster Political Research Group.
IRA statement 'a long way short'
David Trimble has said the IRA's statement falls a long way short of what is required to resolve the current difficulties in the peace process.
The UUP leader said that he had seen the confidential statement to the two governments but he did not elaborate on its contents.
However, responding to Mr Trimble, Sinn Féin's Gerry Kelly said that Unionists could not be allowed to frustrate the process.
Adams pulls out of Ard Chomhairle
The Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and the party's chief negotiator, Martin McGuinness have pulled out of a meeting of Sinn Fein's Ard Chomhairle in Co Meath this evening.
The Sinn Féin leaders were to brief the Ard Chomhairle members on developments of the past week but now intend to stay in Belfast to continue a series of meetings with Irish government officials.
