Sri Lankan PM, other delegates call on PM, Sonia

New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) Visiting Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake today called on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi and is understood to have discussed the deepening ethnic crisis in the island nation.

A host of leaders from other countries, including Presidents Maumoon Abdul Gayoom from the Maldives and Janez Drnovsek from Slovenia, who are here to attend the two-day satyagraha meet had meetings with the Prime Minister and Ms Gandhi.

Though there was no word from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) about the meetings, AICC spokeperson Jayanti Natarajan told reporters that the meetings Ms Gandhi had with the leaders were ''extremely fruitful, productive and resulted in very good exchange of views''.

Among the other leaders who met Ms Gandhi and Dr Singh was Mauritius Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramagoolam.

Mr Wickremanayake's meetings with Dr Singh and Ms Gandhi assume significance in the wake of the ongoing of military offensive on LTTE in which a key Tamil Tiger stronghold in the east fell to the armed forces.

Sri Lanka has recently vowed to continue the fight until the destruction of the the LTTE's entire military machine.

Meanwhile, India and Sri Lanka are expected to begin bilateral talks tomorrow to broaden trade ties under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

UNI