Colombo, June 1: Sri Lanka will start talks with India "very soon" to explore the possibility of involving New Delhi in any negotiations with LTTE to find an amicable solution to the ethnic conflict in Jaffna peninsula.In a wide-ranging interview to PTI here today, Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said though it was some time since External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh made the offer to negotiate between the government and the LTTE, New Delhi and Colombo have not yet explored the details of the extent to which India could get involved."We do not know what India has in mind. That is why I say that we have not explored with each other in real detail. We would like to know in due course, what India has in mind. That can only be done by discussions between two friends. The dialogue will start soon, very soon," he said.Singh in an interview to a TV network last month had said that "India has never been a dishonest broker. And as to playing any role in the situation, that is a process that can only be engaged when all sides to the situation asked for it."New Delhi has also said that it was willing to discuss a revised devolution package with Colombo for the Jaffna peninsula that will go "well beyond" the 1987 Indo-Sri Lanka accord that spoke about merger of northern and eastern provinces.Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan government has said that a series of military setbacks against the LTTE coupled with the `acquisition of high degree' of firepower by the rebels have caused mental depression among soldiers forcing them slip into withdrawal syndrome.Gen Anurudha Ratwatte, who returned to Colombo yesterday after a 12-day stay in the war-torn Jaffna, told a state-run television channel last night that the army was in dire straits in the peninsula.He, however, exuded confidence that the Lankan troops were determined to win back the ground they had lost. "When I arrived in Jaffna on May 18 unannounced, I had to jump out of the helicopter in the dead of the night because the Tigers were shelling the Palaly airbase with their long range guns," he said.Ratwatte said he noticed that mental depression was prevalent among certain sections of soldiers, adding that another reason for the withdrawal syndrome among the soldiers was the setback they suffered in northern Vanni last November.In order to raise the morale of the troops, Ratwatte said, he began visiting troops in different locations. "I visited and met several battalions and went down to bunkers and having spoken to the soldiers, I was able to boost their morale."Today, I can say without iota of doubt that all our soldiers fighting in the north are determined to win back the ground they have lost," state-run newspaper The Daily News quoted him as saying.Assuring the families of the soldiers that everything was being done by the government to take care of their wards, Ratwatte said the recent setbacks were also due to the exchequer cutting down military expenditure to give fillip to economic development.The government, which had allotted $730 million for defence spending this year, last month increased the expenditure by another 150 million dollars following following the Jaffna setbacks."It is true that. we did not possess the highest degree of firepower that the Tigers had acquired. However, the President took timely action and contacted several leaders of friendly countries and succeeded in getting the best weaponry for the soldiers," he said, adding that it had boosted the morale of the troops on the ground.He said President Chandrika Kumaratunga spent a greatdeal of time everyday reviewing army's progress. Her interets coupled with acquisition of advanced weapons had helped troops to advance from their present positions.The Minister also appealed to the families of deserters to send their children back to army to enhance its strength to fight the LTTE.
