Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister holds talks with LTTE leaders

[TamilNet, Friday, 14 March 2003, 03:13 GMT]
Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister Mr. Vidar Helgesen met with Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) Political head, S.P. Thamilchelvan, and Anton Balasingham, LTTE theoretician and leader of LTTE peace delegation, 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. Vidar Helgessen on his return from Killinochchi Thursday evening met with President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge and held discussions regarding the next round of peace talks scheduled to be held in Tokyo in Japan, sources said.

Former foreign minister and presently parliamentarian Mr.Lakshman Kadirgamar also participated in the discussion.

Mr. Vidar Helgessen was also due to meet the Prime Minister Mr.Ranil Wickremasinghe later on the day, sources said.







Mr.Helgessen also 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 the central province where the latter was attending the first public meeting under a programme formulated to create awareness among the people stressing the urgent need for permanent peace in the island instead of war, sources said.