Tuesday, September 12 2006 11:05 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Frankfurt: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday (Sept 11, 2006) said India's efforts would be to ensure that the current ceasefire holds in Sri Lanka as a pre-requisite for a durable solution to the island's crisis.

To a question from a correspondent accompanying him on his official visits to Brazil and Cuba, the prime minister said India was in touch with both the Sri Lankan government and the Norwegian facilitators.

"And our effort is to ensure that the ceasefire holds and that both parties (the Sri Lankan military and the Tamil Tigers) are scrupulously committed to preserving the ceasefire," he said.

"I think that's an essential pre-requisite before we can move forward to a durable solution," he added.

Recent weeks have seen intensified fighting between the military and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) with New Delhi highly concerned about the possibility of renewed outbreak of war in the country's south with political and social repercussions for India.