Colombo: Talks between Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga and her arch-rival Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe today (Dec 5, 2003) failed to make a breakthrough in ending their month- old bitter power struggle, officials said.

"There was no breakthrough in the talks," an official source said.

"The talks were cordial. They reviewed the progress of committee-level discussions of the four-member team appointed by the two leaders."

Kumaratunga and Wickremesinghe met nearly for an hour discussing the political crisis dragging for a month and unlike in previous meetings there was no joint statement after the talks.

The sources said the four-member committee was set to meet again next week, but there was no real breakthrough so far.

They have set a December 15 deadline to finalise a working relationship to improve their uneasy cohabitation.

Details of the latest discussions were not immediately known, but aides on both sides were holding talks separately, political sources said.

Top sources close to both sides said they could not rule out a dissolution of Parliament any time after voting on the national Budget on December 18.

PTI