Tripartite agreement necessary - Indian Foreign Minister

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 19 April 2000, 14:40 GMT]
The devolution of power in Sri Lanka should be done with the consensus of a tripartite agreement between the government, the United National Party and the Liberation Tigers and this is necessary for devolution of powers in Sri Lanka, said India's Foreign Minister Mr. Jaswant Singh.

The comment was made during talks held with Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe the Leader of Sri Lanka's Opposition in Delhi on Wednesday according to a press note issued by the UNP Head Quarters in Colombo.

Mr. Singh had also told the UNP leader that the ethnic conflict should be resolved within a united Sri Lanka and that India would not support separatism nor will it ever accept the division of the island, according to the press note.

Mr. Wickremasinghe had discussions with India's Home Minister, Mr. L. K. Atwani. The UNP leader was also scheduled to meet the Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee but the meeting did not take place, as Mr. Vajpayee was indisposed.