Seize peace opportunity, Pranab tells Wickramasinghe

PTI: The end of conflict is a good opportunity for Sri Lanka to ensure national reconciliation, President Pranab Mukherjee told the visiting Opposition Leader of the Island nation on Thursday.

Leader of Opposition in the Sri Lankan Parliament Ranil Wickramasinghe called on Mukherjee here, a Rashtrapati Bhawan statement said.

“The President said that the India-Sri Lanka bilateral relationship is based on shared historical, cultural and ethnic ties, as well as extensive people-to-people interaction. It has always been close and cordial. As a neighbour with thousands of years of close ties, India has a natural interest in Sri Lanka.”

People of India cannot remain untouched by developments in Sri Lanka.

“The President said India has always felt that the end of the conflict in Sri Lanka provided a unique opportunity to pursue a lasting political settlement, acceptable to all communities. Sri Lanka must seize the opportunity for genuine national reconciliation and move ahead,” the statement quoted him as telling the Sri Lankan leader.

Wickramasinghe warmly reciprocated the President’s words, the statement added.