The Sri Lankan government said Tuesday that it is still open to have talks with the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) despite the latter's aerial attack on the country's main military base on Monday.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama told reporters here that the government's meeting with the LTTE "has been independent of all incidents."

Bogollagama said Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse is very positive for a negotiated settlement to the island country's ethnic issue.

"Our offer to talk with the LTTE is very old and the offer is still there," said the foreign minister.

His remarks came a day after the LTTE's predawn air raids on the Air Force's Katunayake air base, about 30 km north of the capital Colombo.

Three airmen were killed and 16 more were injured in the first ever aerial attack in the history of the over three-decade-old separatist conflict.

Government troops and LTTE rebels are currently being locked in fierce battles in the island country's north and east.

More than 4,000 people have been killed since December 2005 despite a Norwegian-arranged truce in place.

The LTTE has been fighting for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's 12.5 percent Tamil minority since the 1970s.

Source: Xinhua