The Sri Lankan Government on Thursday said a stable foundation had been laid for peace talks with the Tamil Tiger rebels to find a negotiated political settlement and it was now concentrating on consolidating and strengthening the groundwork.
''We want to formalize a ceasefire agreement by accommodating a coherent and complete arrangement in one document to continue it,'' constitutional affairs minister G.L. Peiris told a news conference in Colombo on Thursday.


''We do not want the unilaterally announced ceasefires to lapse as stipulated on January 24. The Norwegian facilitators are exploring the possibilities to meet this demand,'' said Prof Peiris who is also the cabinet spokesman.
The government's willingness to formalise a ceasefire agreement coincided with the arrival of a three-member Norwegian peace delegation in Colombo that would continue shuttle diplomacy for bringing peace to the island's ethnic conflict.

Prof. Peiris said that the Norwegian delegation would meet Mr Wickremesinghe and his team, President Chandrika Kumaratunga and leaders of Muslim and Tamil political parties during their two-day stay in Colombo. Bureau Report