Colombo talks produce no breakthrough

[TamilNet, Monday, 01 December 2003, 11:50 GMT]
Meeting of a four-member committee appointed by Sri Lanka's prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Sri Lanka's President Chandrika Kumaratunge to work out a cohabitation arrangement between them ended Monday without a breakthrough, media sources in Colombo said.

"They agreed to meet again, but there was no breakthrough," AFP quoted a source close to Ms.Kumaratunge as saying.

Following the leak of a compromise proposals by Ms.Kumaratunge Saturday where she offered a compromise to share defence responsibilites and to include more parties in the peace process, reports said that Ranil Wickremesinghe had rejected the proposals.

Political observers said that even though both leaders are afraid to go for another costly poll four year ahead of when elections are due, with the talks hitting an impasse, dissolution of parliament anytime after voting on the national budget on December 18 and a snap election thereafter has become a distinct possibility.