Premier cautiously optimistic over talks

INDONESIA: Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake said here yesterday he was "cautiously optimistic" that weekend peace talks with the LTTE in Switzerland would help halt ethnic bloodshed and save the ceasefire.

Prime Minister Wickremanayake made the comments during bilateral talks with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.

"There is an impression that the premier is cautiously optimistic (for positive results)," Indonesian Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told reporters.

"We understand that such a process is difficult to be undertaken. It appears that the Prime Minister was being very cautious about his expectations on the prospects of the peace talks," Wirayuda said.

Wirayuda was responding to questions from reporters on whether the Geneva peace talks were discussed here by the two leaders, neither of whom were available to the media after their meeting.

Jakarta hoped Sri Lanka would use as a model for peace its own accord struck with rebels in Aceh, Wirayuda said. The Free Aceh Movement rebels cemented a peace pact with the Government last August that ended 29 years of bloodshed.

Yudhoyono told the Sri Lankan premier that a special autonomy offer could serve as an impetus for permanent peace, Wirayuda said.

"The final format of the peace talks has to be clear. An accord in the form of a special autonomy offer, or what they call devolution, can be agreed in advance because it can further smooth the negotiation process," the Foreign Minister said.