New Delhi, Nov 26: The political uncertainty notwithstanding, the peace process in Sri Lanka is on the right track and talks between the government and the LTTE could be resumed as early as next year, Sri Lankan Commerce Minister Ravi Karunanayake has said.

Karunanayake, who is heading a 14-member Sri Lankan delegation to the India-Economic Summit, said the current stand off between the president and prime minister could not be construed as a 'set back', but admitted that it has led to temporary suspension of talks.
Dismissing the suggestion that the LTTE's counterproposals were akin to a blue print for ''Tamil Eelam (separate state)'', he said, ''theirs (LTTE) is only a proposal which is subject to negotiations. I do not think the proposals are a pointer to separatism.''
The minister, who was quite critical of the President's action in dismissing the three key ministers, reminded that the President and Prime Minister belong to two different parties and it was natural that the president too wanted to take credit for the peace process.
''If the Ranil Wickremesinghe government can sign a MoU with the Ltte, why not with the President,'' he asked and added that both the President and Prime Minister have understood the implications and decided to work together to bring a permanent peace in the island country. Initially, the president was worried about the people being appreciative of Wickremesinghe's handling of the peace process.
He said the Prime Minister had managed to bring the economy back on track, making negative growth turn into 5.6 per cent positive one. The free trade agreement (FTA) between India and Sri Lanka had helped increase of exports from his country.
The recent decision of the Indian government to allow private airlines to start flights to Sri Lanka would definitely increase tourism and business, he said. The minister said he had discussions with Civil Aviation Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy who told him that once the cabinet approved it, private airlines would begin operations, possibly from mid-December.
Bureau Report