Prabhakaran agrees to talk

Tamil Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran has told the Sri Lankan government that he is committed to resuming talks on ending decades of ethnic bloodshed, a government minister said.

Policy Planning Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters that Prabhakaran, the elusive leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), had given the assurances sought by President Mahinda Rajapakse.

"We need concrete positive commitments from the leader of the LTTE to resume talks. He has given that," said Rambukwella, who is also the government's chief spokesman on defence matters.

There was no immediate reaction from the Tigers to Rambukwella's remarks, but diplomats close to the peace process said Norway was trying to arrange a meeting early next month in Oslo.

Asked if Prabhakaran had given the message in writing or through the Norwegian peace brokers, Rambukwella said: "He had given it in a different form. I will tell you after I discuss it with the president."

Earlier this month, Sri Lanka's key financial donors asked both sides to resume talks and work towards saving a truce that is threatened with collapse following an upsurge of violence that killed over 1,500 people since December.

Top Norwegian peace broker Erik Solheim had also announced that both sides agreed to meet in early October in Oslo, although Rajapakse has insisted that the violence must stop before negotiations can begin.