Sri Lanka talks end without deal, no new talks set

GENEVA, Oct 29 (Reuters) Talks between the Sri Lankan government and Tamil rebels ended today with no agreement on political or humanitarian issues, and no date was set for further discussions, parties to the talks said.

S P Thamilselvan, chief negotiator for the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), said the rebels would not participate in new talks until the A9 highway linking the north to the rest of the country was reopened, a demand refused by the government in the weekend session.

''It is regrettable that they have imposed a condition for future talks,'' Nimal Siripala de Silva, head of the government delegation, told a Geneva news conference after the two-day meetings.

Eirik Solheim, international development minister of mediator Norway, said he would continue to work with both sides ''to discuss all possible ideas on how to move the peace process forward.'' The government and Tigers reiterated a commitment to Sri Lanka's 2002 ceasefire deal -- which remains officially in place despite a recent escalation of violence -- and promised in the talks not to launch any military offensives, Solheim said.

''The international community has repeatedly expressed that it expects the parties to show restraint and fulfil these commitments,'' he said.

Reuters PB DB2308