Colombo: Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on January 5 his government's attempts to make peace with the Tamil Tiger rebels had entered a critical phase but it was imperative to pursue negotiations.

"The journey to peace is not yet over. We have to go a long way. But whatever situation arises, we must not leave the negotiating table," Wickremesinghe said in a televised address.

Wickremesinghe's remarks came a day before government negotiators were due to open a fourth round of direct negotiations with the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on neutral ground in Thailand.

The latest session is expected to see both sides engage in tough bargaining over the continued presence of military troops in the island's Northern Tamil-dominated Jaffna peninsula.

"We are at a decisive moment of the peace process. It is time to embark on the road to permanent peace as the guns are now silent," the Prime Minister.

Despite rapid gains in the Norwegian-brokered peace bid since opening talks in September, the current round is expected to be clouded over by the LTTE demanding the pruning of military "high security zones" in the embattled peninsula.

The LTTE has said the high security areas adjacent to key military encampments were impeding the resettlement of thousands of Tamil refugees.

Downplaying the militants' new demand, the Prime Minister said after decades of battling government troops, the militants now conceded that the security forces had a right to remain in Jaffna.

PTI