India will work for a peaceful solution to decades of ethnic fighting in Sri Lanka, where the government and Tamil rebels have declared a truce, Foreign Minister Jaswant Singh said on Monday. "India has always been assisting Sri Lanka in all possible ways, and we would support a peaceful solution within Sri Lanka's territory which satisfies all sections of the Sri Lankan people," Singh said after talks with Sri Lanka's new Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe.

"India has an important role to play," Singh said. Wickremesinghe, who was due to meet Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee later, said Sunday that India "can definitely play a crucial role in bringing peace in Sri Lanka."

Wickremesinghe's United National Party came to power in December 5 elections on promises to reform the economy and to open talks with the Tamil Tigers, who are waging a campaign for an independent homeland for Sri Lanka's Tamil minority. The Tigers have announced a halt to attacks for one month beginning on Monday. Bureau Report