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India can end LTTE arms smuggling: Lanka

B S Shantaram in Colombo

India should play an effective role in defending the Indian Ocean, according to Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Laxman Kirialle.

''If India acts positively, our war with LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) will end soon,'' he told visiting media persons from India.

Elaborating on the statement, he said India should ensure that arms were not smuggled to the LTTE camps. ''If this is done, then there could be a solution. We have already conveyed this to India and the response was positive,'' he added.

In fact, Sri Lanka has had absolutely no problem with India, especially after 1994, he said.

Kirialle also touched upon the free trade agreement between the two countries, effective from March 1 and said it had opened up new vistas. The FTA was a boon to the country and it was likely to increase trade and business by at least 50 per cent.

At the same time India should consider the demand of Sri Lanka to increase its flights especially from places such as Bangalore and Hyderabad, he said.

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