Tamil Tiger rebels ended their eight-month boycott of talks and said they were ready to open negotiations on the basis of a plan they unveiled on Saturday.
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam asked peace-broker Norway to arrange a meeting with Colombo to discuss the landmark power-sharing plan they publicly announced, a day after handing it over to the Sri Lankan government.
"We have asked the Royal Norwegian Government to arrange for a meeting at which we can discuss this proposal, in their presence, at a mutually convenient time and venue," LTTE political wing leader S P Thamilselvan told reporters in the northern rebel-held town of Kilinochchi on Saturday.
"We look forward to continuing our dialogue with the government and to reaching rapid agreement on the creation of an Interim Self-Governing Authority to effectively bring normalcy and economic development to the Tamil people in the northeast," he added.
Thamilselvan said they believed the creation of the governing authority would provide a conducive environment to negotiate a peaceful resolution of the conflict in the island.
"Peace to the Tamil people should be translated as peace and prosperity to the entire country," he said.
The Tigers had boycotted the talks since the last round in March at Hakone, Japan.