Colombo: Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels today (Feb 09, 2004) vowed to uphold their truce with Government troops despite the dissolution of Parliament but said the snap polls called by the President were a "grave setback" to peace efforts.

The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said Saturday's (Feb 07, 2004) action by President Chandrika Kumaratunga against the Government of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was leading the bid to end the three-decade conflict, could further delay the reopening of negotiations.

"The dissolution of the Parliament and the call for a snap election constitutes a grave setback to the peace process," the LTTE's London-based chief peace negotiator Anton Balasingham said in a statement.

"In spite of the political turmoil and uncertainty in Colombo, our organisation will rigidly observe the ceasefire regulations and maintain peace," he said.

The Tigers agreed to a ceasefire with the Government of Wickremesinghe in February 2002 and the two sides held six rounds of talks.

The dialogue has been deadlocked since April 2003, but the rebels agreed to resume talks in November after unveiling their first peace plan to end the ethnic bloodshed.

Four days after the Tigers announced their plan, Kumaratunga sacked three Ministers and assumed the portfolios of defence, interior and information, accusing the premier of making too many concessions to the rebels.

Meanwhile, diplomats said the political tug-of-war had put at risk $ 4.5 billion in foreign aid pledged to help rebuild Sri Lanka and support the peace process.