The Norwegian government which facilitates peace between the Tamil Tiger rebels and the Sri Lankan government said on Friday that the situation in the country has turned into grave as escalating violence in breach of the February 2002 cease-fire agreement.

Norwegian embassy to Sri Lanka issued a statement following the breakdown of a talks between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels and the government in the Norwegian capital of Oslo on Thursday.

The Sri Lankan government in a statement issued on Thursday charged that the LTTE had refused to meet with the government delegation after arriving at the talks venue.

The two-day meeting was scheduled to discuss the issues concerning the international truce monitoring group, the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM).

The Tigers explained later that they had arrived in Oslo only to discuss with Norway and they had no plan to meet a government delegation which was not one with ministerial level representation.

The Tigers had also objected to the presence of individuals from Sweden, Denmark and Finland, three member nations in the European Union countries that list the LTTE as a terrorist organization.

The Norwegian government said in the statement that with the failure of the Oslo meeting, the Norwegian government and the SLMM" have been seriously hampered in their efforts to find a future solution for the SLMM and thereby encourage respect for the cease-fire agreement and its effective monitoring."

The SLMM on May 11 accused the Tigers of paying disrespect for the security of its members whilst attacking a Sri Lankan Navy ship carrying troops from east to the north.

The Norwegians said that they wanted the answers from Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse and rebel leader Velupillai Prabakaran five questions which will determine the future of the Norwegian and SLMM roles in the Sri Lankan conflict.

Over 700 people have so far been killed since the beginning of December last year in the upsurge of violence. Both sides accuse each other of carrying out murderous attacks on the other.

(Xinhua News Agency June 10, 2006)