Solheim finalising set of CBMs

By Nirupama Subramanian

COLOMBO, MARCH 5. The Norwegian peace envoy, Mr. Erik Solheim, left here tonight for London where he is to meet the LTTE representative, Mr. Anton Balasingham.

Mr. Solheim, who arrived here on Sunday, held discussions on the Oslo-facilitated peace process with the Sri Lankan President, Mrs. Chandrika Kumaratunga, and the Foreign Minister, Mr. Lakshman Kadirgamar. He also met the Minister for Constitutional Affairs, Mr. G. L. Peiris, and the leader of the Opposition, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, this morning.

As has become normal practice for Mr. Solheim on every visit, he later met the Indian High Commissioner, Mr. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, and briefed him on the facilitation efforts. No details of the meetings were available, but a spokesperson for the Norwegian Embassy said they were ``constructive.''

``We hope these will bring the parties closer to negotiations,'' he said. Mr. Solheim is said to be finalising a set of pre-talks confidence-building measures (CBMs) to be observed by both sides to create a ``conducive'' atmosphere for talks.

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Section  : International
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