Foreign Secretary of the Indian government Shyam Saran met with Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Monday to offer New Delhi’s continued support for a political solution to the island nation’s simmering civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels, the Sri Lankan Foreign Ministry said.‘‘He also discussed India’s desire to assist in finding a way forward in the peace process,’’ Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Himali Arunartilleke said. Saran also met Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraveera and other officials.Arunartilleke said Sri Lanka conveyed its commitment to the ceasefire despite alleged violations by the Tamil Tigers and repeated its desire for a ‘‘negotiated political solution, based on democracy and human rights.’’Saran’s visit comes amid escalating violence between the government and Tamil rebels. Although both sides say they are adhering to the truce, skirmishes are increasingly common and more than 700 people have been killed since April.In 1987, New Delhi sent peacekeeping troops to Sri Lanka, but withdrew them three years later after more than 1,100 Indian soldiers died in clashes with the Tigers. India has distanced itself from the fighting in Sri Lanka since the 1991 assassination of its former prime minister, Rajiv Gandhi, by a Tamil Tiger suicide bomber, but has pledged continued diplomatic support for a peaceful settlement.-ASHOK SHARMA
