Amidst concern over the political fallout in Tamil Nadu of the ongoing army campaign in Sri Lanka's north, National Security Adviser M K Narayanan and Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon today held talks with President Mahinda Rajapaksa and discussed the current situation.
It was not clear whether the Indian special envoys, which rushed here this morning, put forward the demand for an immediate ceasefire during their 90-minute meeting with the President at his official residence 'Temple Trees'.
"It was a very cordial meeting and they discussed the current situation," official sources said. There was no comment from the Indian side.
Narayanan and Menon arrived here by a special aircraft and were flown to the President's house in a helicopter. They left for home immediately after the meeting.
India had yesterday asked for an immediate end to "all hostilities" as it reviewed the situation in the island's north where thousands of civilians are trapped in the conflict between the advancing army and LTTE.
"The Government of India has been monitoring with deep concern and anxiety the evolving situation in Sri Lanka, in particular the condition of Tamil civilians in conflict zones," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said yesterday after a meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to review the situation in Sri Lanka.
{{/usCountry}}"The Government of India has been monitoring with deep concern and anxiety the evolving situation in Sri Lanka, in particular the condition of Tamil civilians in conflict zones," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee had said yesterday after a meeting convened by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to review the situation in Sri Lanka.
{{/usCountry}}Home Minister P Chidambaram, Defence Minister A K Antony, Narayanan and Menon also attended the meeting.
The decision to send the two top officials was also taken at the meeting, which came against the backdrop of demands from political parties in Tamil Nadu, especially Congress' main ally DMK, for a ceasefire in the island nation.
The ruling party had also given a call for a bandh in Tamil Nadu yesterday demanding a ceasefire in the fighting between the Sri Lankan Army and the LTTE.