NEW DEDLHI: India on Friday repeated its support for Sri Lanka's peace process but skirted a request by visiting President Mahinda Rajapakse to play a greater role in helping end conflict in the troubled island.
A joint statement issued at the end of Rajapakse's four-day visit to India said New Delhi had offered "to provide intellectual and academic resources in support of the peace process" but made no mention of involvement at government level.
Ahead of his visit, Rajapakse had said he hoped India would get more involved in efforts to bring peace to the island where an upsurge in violence has triggered fears of a slide back to civil war.
In Friday's statement, India "reiterated its support for a process of seeking a negotiated political settlement acceptable to all sections of Sri Lankan society.
"The Indian side expressed the hope that a political settlement of the ethnic issue ... would emerge through negotiations between the parties concerned," it added.
Rajapakse, it said, had apprised Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the surge of violence in Sri Lanka's northeast which has cost 83 lives this month despite the truce that has been in place since February 23, 2002.
"The two leaders deplored violations of the ceasefire, which could undermine the prospects for peace in Sri Lanka," it said. Both sides emphasized the need for the strict observance of the ceasefire and immediate resumption of talks aimed at strengthening the ceasefire."
The joint statement said India had agreed to help in the reconstruction and development of northern and eastern Sri Lanka, which have been ravaged by war and by last year's devastating tsunami.
