Colombo, Oct 22: Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga's party displayed rare agreement with her arch rival Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe in welcoming the outcome of his visit to New Delhi. Kumaratunga's Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) said it fully endorsed the joint statement issued in New Delhi yesterday at the end of Wickremesinghe's two-day visit.
SLFP spokesman Sarath Amunugama said they were pleased that India had upheld Kumaratunga's stand that any interim solution to the island's ethnic conflict should be linked to a final settlement. "We welcome the statement released at the end of the visit. India has in the statement linked any interim arrangement to a final resolution of the conflict," he said.
"That has been the position of the president. The statement has clearly upheld the stand taken by the SLFP. This is a vindication of the position that was taken by our party," Amunugama said.
Amunugama also welcomed the two countries moving towards enhancing their economic and defence cooperation. "We are for regional cooperation and non-alignment," Amunugama said.
Another SLFP lawmaker and Kumaratunga confidant, Mangala Samaraweera, said they were also pleased with Prime Minister Wickremesinghe's talks with opposition leader Sonia Gandhi.
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe returned home early this morning. Bureau Report