Sri Lankan president meets Chirac

The Sri Lankan president, Chandrika Kumaratunga, has held talks in Paris with President Chirac about her government's efforts to end the Tamil Tiger rebellion.

Mr Chirac urged her to negotiate a peace settlement which respected both Sri Lanka's unity and the legitimate aspirations of minorities, according to his spokeswoman. So far, the Sri Lankan government has insisted on unconditional talks with the Tigers, rejecting their demand that it should match the Tigers' ceasefire before talks can start. For her part, Mrs Kumaratunga,who last week visited Germany, the Netherlands and Britain, said they had discussed the Tigers' activities in Europe.

Last month Britain followed the United States in declaring the Tamil Tigers a terrorist organisation, denying it the right to raise funds. Mrs Kumaratunga, a fluent French speaker since her days as a student in Paris, has also held talks with the prime minister, Lionel Jospin, and was due to have dinner with the education minister, Jack Laing.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service