Lankan Foreign Minister meets Condoleezza

Marking the first top-level political contact with the United States after the Rajapakse government assumed power in Sri Lanka, Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera met his American counterpart Condoleezza Rice and conveyed his government's firm commitment to seek a negotiated settlement to the island's ethnic conflict.

The visit comes against the backdrop of escalating violence in Sri Lanka between the government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has been taken serious note of by the Bush administration.

During the 30-minute meeting between Samaraweera and Rice on Thursday, the peace process in Sri Lanka and the current security situation came up for discussion.

Samaraweera told Rice that President Mahindra Rajapakse had been able to secure the support of 28 political parties in the recent elections and was currently holding consultations with opposition parties including the United National Party to put together a southern consensus on resolving the conflict with the LTTE.

The minister also pointed out that the Sri Lankan President had repeatedly invited the Tamil Tigers to resume negotiations with a view to strengthening and implementing the ceasefire agreement and in arriving at a negotiated political settlement.

The American delegation in the talks included Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Nicholas Burns and Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Christina Rocca with whom Samaraweera had more detailed discussions prior to his meeting with Rice.

One of the objectives of Samaraweera's visit has been to set the record straight with the Sri Lankan expatriate community, Sinhala and Tamil.

There has been a perception that despite an official ban on the LTTE, the group has been able to function through front organisations as also in its ability to raise money in United States. Significantly, Samaraweera's discussions were  not confined to the political level. He also held discussions with top ranking officials at the Treasury and the Justice Departments, both of which are very active in anti and counter terrorism operations.