Thursday, December 29 2005 14:31 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Emphasising India's committed support to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka, President A P J Abdul Kalam yesterday (Dec 28, 2005) night said New Delhi favoured a peaceful and negotiated settlement of the ethnic issue of the island nation.

Addressing a banquet hosted in honour of visiting President Mahinda Rajapakse here, Kalam said war, conflict and terrorism were the biggest threat to democratic societies and India stood with Sri Lanka in rejecting these.

"India remains committed in its support to the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and for a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the ethnic issue," he said.

Appreciating Rajapakse's efforts to build a national consensus on a solution within a united Sri Lanka and on the basis of maximum devolution, Kalam said India was ready to share with Columbo its experience of unity in diversity, pluralist traditions in a democracy and devolution within a federal framework.