“The visit of the external affairs minister is under consideration. Dates are being finalised,” official sources said.
NEW DELHI: A day after prime minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa on the plight of Tamil civilians caught in the military conflict in the island nation, the Indian government on Sunday decided to send external affairs minister Pranab Mukerjee to Colombo to discuss the issue.
“The visit of the external affairs minister is under consideration. Dates are being finalised,” official sources said.
Sri Lankan foreign minister Rohitha Bogollgama had invited Mukherjee “to undertake a visit to Sri Lanka at an early date”, said a statement issued in Colombo after a telephonic conversation between Singh and Rajapaksa. On his part, Singh “expressed his deep concern on the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the north of Sri Lanka, especially on the plight of the civilians caught in the hostilities”, a statement from the prime minister’s office in New Delhi said.
During the conversation, Singh “emphasised that the safety and the security of Tamil civilians must be safeguarded at all costs” during the military operations against Tamil Tiger rebels, the statement said.
Singh has also asked Colombo to ensure “uninterrupted relief supplies” for the internally displaced persons, the statement added.
It said Singh reiterated that there was “no military solution” to the conflict and urged the Sri Lankan leader “to start a political process for a peacefully negotiated political settlement within the framework of a united Sri Lanka”.
However, the Sri Lankan foreign ministry statement has made no reference to these two key issues.
Meanwhile, Mukherjee, on Thursday, had sent a stern message to Colombo asking it to shun “military means” and pursue a political settlement that respects the human rights of minorities in the island nation.
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