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Rediff.com  » News » Mukherjee rules out direct intervention in Lanka

Mukherjee rules out direct intervention in Lanka

December 22, 2006 15:46 IST
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External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday ruled out any direct intervention from India to solve the ethnic crisis in Sri Lanka.

Talking to newspersons in Chennai after inaugurating the Passport Officer's Conference, he said India had no intention to directly intervene in the Lankan issue.

"India will not intervene directly," he reiterated.

Referring to the letter written by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's reply to it, Mukherjee said, "So far as India's role is concerned, we have stated our position very clearly. A solution should be found within the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and within the framework of its Constitution, by addressing the legitimate aspirations of the ethnic group, especially the Tamils," he added.

He referred to the Norway-brokered peace initiative and said, "This has to be resolved by the parties concerned and we wish them all success."

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