Norway's Deputy FM holds talks with LTTE leaders

[TamilNet, Thursday, 13 March 2003, 12:10 GMT]
Talks between the Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgessen and the leaders of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam began Thursday afternoon at Killinochchi, sources said.



The talks centred on the recent attack on a LTTE merchant vessel 220 km off northeast coast in the international waters, which resulted in the death of eleven senior cadres of the LTTE, and the proposed sixth round of peace talks scheduled to begin on March 18 at Tokyo in Japan, sources said.

Mr.Helgessen held discussions Wednesday with President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and Prime Minister Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe before leaving to Killinochchi Thursday morning.

He met Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe at Kandy in where the latter was attending the first public meeting under a programme formulated to create awareness among the people stressing the urgent need of a permanent peace instead of war in the island, sources said.