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OSLO, Friday (Reuters) - Peace in Sri Lanka is probably years away because the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and government negotiators face enormous hurdles in talks starting on Monday, the chief Norwegian peace broker said.

"We will certainly call for patience and try to lower expectations because there are many hurdles ahead," Deputy Foreign Minister Vidar Helgesen told Reuters. "There are great difficulties."

"We'll have numerous such rounds before there will be anything close to a solution," Helgesen said a day before leaving for Thailand to head a five-strong Norwegian delegation.

"If the parties get an interim solution it will still have a way to go to a final settlement. In that sense I think we're talking years rather than months," Helgesen said.

Asked how far off a provisional peace deal might be, he said: "It's hard to judge. It should be hoped for that an interim solution should be months away rather than years away but we are at a pre-talks stage."

Helgesen said both sides seemed committed to the peace process. He welcomed LTTE moves to reunite young fighters with their families after reports of under-age conscription.

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