Colombo: Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway has failed to end a deadlock in getting the island's stalled negotiations with Tamil Tiger rebels restarted, President Chandrika Kumaratunga's office said today (Jul 28, 2004).

Norway's Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen informed Kumaratunga that there was no agreement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on reopening talks.

"Helgesen briefed the President on his discussion with S P Thamilselvan of the LTTE indicating that there was no agreement on the proposed agenda for the commencement of the direct negotiations between the Government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE," the President's office said in a statement.

The statement said that the LTTE however had made it clear that it remained committed to the Oslo-brokered ceasefire, which has been in place since February 2002.

"The President indicated to Helgesen that her Government is willing and keen to commence negotiations on an interim authority within the framework of a united State and to reach a durable solution to the conflict," it said.

The remarks appeared to be aimed at softening her stand on talks with the rebels, but there was no immediate feedback from the Tigers.

However, Kumaratunga made a similar conciliatory gesture on July 12, but her Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera distanced the President from those remarks saying that statement issued by her office did not reflect her thinking.