Kumaratunga on Sri Lanka peace

President Chandrika Kumaratunga of Sri Lanka has said that her government will not agree to a ceasefire with Tamil Tiger rebels until they agree to begin talks to end the war.

It was the first public response by the president to a unilateral ceasefire called last month by the Tigers, and came on the eve of an expected visit to Sri Lanka by the Norwegian envoy, Erik Solheim, who has been trying to develop a peace process between the two sides.

The president said that her government was completely sincere in its wish for peace, but she did not believe that the Tigers wanted to end the war. Correspondents say that hopes for possible progress were raised two months ago when Mr Solheim held a surprise meeting with the reclusive Tamil rebel leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service