India has vital stake in Sri Lanka's unity and integrity -Manmohan Singh

Indian Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh said in New Delhi that the Indian Government was not indifferent to what was happening in Sri Lanka, vis-a-vis the LTTE.

The Indian Prime Minister made this comment in response to a question by a journalist on the 'dangerous' problem arising from the LTTE setting up naval and air bases.

He said India had a "very vital stake" in the unity and integrity of Sri Lanka and expressed the hope that the ethnic problem would be resolved peacefully.

The Indian Prime Minister was engaged in a hour-long interaction with foreign journalists based in New Delhi. President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga is scheduled to make an official visit to New Delhi at the end of this week where this topic is expected to be taken up as also the proposed 'joint mechanism' involving the LTTE to facilitate relief and reconstruction work in tsunami hit North and East.