PHOTO: SRIYANTHA WALPOLA

COURTESY CALL: Finance Minister P. Chidambaram and Indian High Commissioner Nirupama Rao with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in Colombo on Wednesday.

COLOMBO: Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Wednesday urged Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa to seize the `opportunity' for talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in the wake of the Co-Chairs of Sri Lanka statement.

After meeting the President, Mr. Chidambaram told journalists at the temporary Presidential palace that he was happy to learn about the possibility of the resumption of talks between the Sri Lanka Government and the Tamil Tigers.

``I urged the President to seize the opportunity for talks as we believe that talks could bring down the tensions and halt the flow of refugees into India,'' Mr. Chidambaram, who was here to participate in the Commonwealth Finance Ministers conference, said in response to a question on whether he talked about the refugees issue with Mr. Rajapaksa.

A statement by the Indian mission said the meeting between the Finance Minister and Mr. Rajapaksa took place in the morning before the formal sessions of the Commonwealth Finance Ministers began. ``President Rajapaksa and Mr. Chidambaram exchanged views on the current situation in Sri Lanka and the ongoing efforts to resume the peace process," it said without elaborating.

Mr. Chidambaram is the first senior political functionary from the Manmohan Singh Government to travel to the Sri Lanka capital after Mr. Rajapaksa took office of President in November last.

The meeting of Mr. Chidambaram assumes significance in the backdrop of the security situation in Sri Lanka. Hostilities between the government forces and the LTTE have stepped up since April.

India and Sri Lanka have been in close contact on the developing situation.

Committing itself to strengthening the defence capabilities of the Sri Lanka military, India in recent months has repeatedly emphasised the need for revival of the political dialogue by the Sri Lanka Government to resolve the ethnic conflict.

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