Norway not to present new peace initiatives in Sri Lanka's conflict

Norway would shy away from presenting any new mediation or peace initiatives in Sri Lanka's civil conflict, Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said.

According to the Norway Post newspaper on Tuesday, Stoere made the remarks after holding talks in Oslo with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mangala Samaraweera, who is on an official visit to Norway.

Stoere said Norway would not present any new mediation or peace initiatives, adding that Norway had no part in the conflict, but was only a facilitator for negotiations.

But Samaraweera said Sri Lanka still needed Norway's help. He reaffirmed that the Sri Lankan government would continue to support the process aimed to achieve permanent peace for the island state.

However, he criticized the Tamils, referring to the rejection by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) of an invitation to meet a government delegation in Norway last week.

Peace talks between the Sri Lankan government and the LTTE in Oslo stalled last week after the Tamil Tiger rebels refused to meet government representatives from Colombo.

Source: Xinhua