Colombo: Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger rebels today (Nov 11, 2004) made a fresh offer to President Chandrika Kumaratunga through peace broker Norway to end the 19-month deadlock on negotiations.

The "message" was given to Norwegian Foreign Minister Jan Petersen during a meeting with LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) chief Velupillai Prabhakaran in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi, the Tamil Tigers said.

"We have conveyed a message to her (the President) on how to take the peace process forward," LTTE's chief peace negotiator Anton Balasingham was quoted as saying by the pro-rebel Tamilnet website.

Lanka Peace Process

"But, the Norwegians have requested us not to speak about it to the press until they discuss it with the Sri Lankan President," he said.

Petersen returned to Colombo from Kilinochchi, 330 kms North of Colombo in a military helicopter to have a second round of talks with Kumaratunga before leaving the island early tomorrow.

Kumaratunga had asked Petersen to convey to the LTTE rebels that her Government was willing to resume the stalled peace talks.

Petersen flew to Kilinochchi earlier in the day with a message from Kumaratunga to Prabhakaran on reviving stalled peace talks, her office said.

Petersen, during late night talks with Kumaratunga was asked to convey the Government's willingness to resume direct negotiations with the LTTE at the earliest, it said.

Diplomatic sources said there was no "formal letter" that Petersen carried to Prabhakaran, but Kumaratunga's thoughts were conveyed to the minister on resuming negotiations.

"The Foreign Minister undertook to convey the President's views to the LTTE leadership when he meets them ... and stressed that this was an opportune moment to renew direct talks between the Government of and the LTTE," the statement issued by Kumaratunga's office said.

It said Kumaratunga reiterated her commitment to maintain the Oslo-brokered truce with Tigers, in place since February 2002, and wanted a peaceful end to the conflict which has claimed over 60,000 lives between 1972 and 2002.

The Norwegian official, his deputy Vidar Helgesen and special envoy Erik Solheim led the latest Norwegian initiative to hold talks with the LTTE leader in the rebel-held town of Kilinochchi in the island's North.

"The Norwegians have only modest expectations," a diplomatic source close to the peace process said, adding, "we are not expecting a breakthrough on resuming the direct negotiations."

Solheim arrived in Colombo ahead of Petersen's three-day visit which began yesterday and has already met Sri Lankan leaders.

The London-based chief negotiator for the rebel Tamil Tigers, Anton Balasingham, has returned to the island with his wife Adele, also a Tigers negotiator, ahead of today's meeting with Petersen.

The Oslo-brokered peace talks between the Sri Lankan Government and LTTE have been on hold since the guerrillas walked out in April 2003.