A new report on paramilitary disarmament in Northern Ireland indicates that the IRA has shifted significantly on the weapons issue which has deadlocked the peace process.

The latest assessment by Canadian general John de Chastelain's international commission on arms decommissioning was published just hours after direct rule was re-imposed on the province.

The report follows a meeting between the three-man commission and a representative from the IRA on Friday afternoon.

Following the meeting, the decommissioning body said it was "particularly significant" that the IRA was considering how to put arms and explosives beyond use.

The report states: "The representative indicated to us today [Friday] the context in which the IRA will initiate a comprehensive process to put arms beyond use, in a manner as to ensure maximum public confidence.

"The commission believes this commitment holds out the real prospect of an agreement which would enable us to fulfil the substance of its mandate."

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Mandelson suspended the 72-day-old power-sharing executive on Friday evening.

Reacting to the latest developments, he accepted that the IRA had shifted its position significantly from that which it held two weeks ago.

"Its significance (the second report) is that it would seem that the IRA has somewhat shifted their position from that reflected in General de Chastelain's first report published in January," he said.

"Now there remains certain aspects which are unclear about the IRA's position, and further clarification is needed about what it amounts to.

"But if there is a genuine commitment now on the IRA's part to decommission and preparedness to engage properly with General de Chastelain and his commission and about when this should take place ... then that is genuine substantial progress, but that of course remains still unclear even from General de Chastelain's second report."

Earlier, as he was announcing the suspension of the Northern Ireland executive, Mr Mandelson said there had been some progress in discussions aimed at halting the process of suspending the Northern Ireland Assembly, but not enough.

He indicated he had based his decision on evidence, contained in an earlier report by General de Chastelain of the international decommissioning commission, that the IRA had not made sufficient progress on the weapons issue.

This report had been delivered to the British and Irish governments on 31 January but was withheld from publication until Friday.

Sinn Fein spokesman Pat Doherty criticised Mr Mandelson "for collapsing the institutions".

"He has destroyed years of work with one disastrous decision and we will have to reflect very seriously on how to move forward from here."

A senior Ulster Unionist said the latest statement was a considerable advance on the position contained on General de Chastelain's 31 January assessment.

"The language is warmer but I think it's very unclear what it means," said Alan McFarland. "It makes an encouraging start to the review."

'Real significance'

A spokesman for Downing Street said: "It's a development of real significance. It will form the basis of our continuing discussions."

The latest developments will be debated at a meeting of the Ulster Unionist party council, which comprises more than 800 grassroots party activists, on Saturday.

The crisis threatening the fragile peace process was brought about by the lack of progress on arms decommissioning and in particular the absence of any handover of IRA weapons.

Mr Trimble had threatened to resign as Assembly First Minister if disarmament did not begin before the end of January.

His resignation would have collapsed the institutions and made it much harder to get them going again.