India yesterday ruled out military support to Sri Lanka and insisted that it will only support the country’s peace effort. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said this after meeting Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe yesterday adding there is no solution other than a negotiated settlement to the ethnic conflict.

Mr. Wickremesinghe is on a five day official visit to India. The Indian Premier said it was important for mediocre political parties to get together rather than the extremist parties. He also expressed concern about the lack of dialogue between the two main political parties over the ethnic issue.

Mr. Wickremesinghe explained that the government so far has failed to put forward its solution to the ethnic conflict and he was ready to support President Mahinda Rajapaksa to go towards a federal solution based on the Tokyo Declaration.

Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Nirupama Rao and Sri Lankan High Commissioner in India Romesh Jayasinghe too participated in the meeting. -Daily Mirror By Dinit Chinthaka Karunaratne