May 29, 2002	Wednesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16,1423

COLOMBO, May 28: Deputy Norwegian Foreign Minister Vyder Helgesan on Tuesday left for London to meet Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is touring Europe.

Helgesan is acting as the apostle of peace between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government.

He is scheduled to meet Wickremesinghe to finalize a number of crucial points of a permanent ceasefire to be discussed during talks between the government and the LTTE in Thailand.

The peace talks are scheduled to be held in Thailand either by the end of June or beginning of July this year.

The Norwegian Deputy Foreign Minister is also expected to meet the LTTE theoretician Anton Balasingham in London shortly after he clears matters with Wickremesinghe.

Meanwhile, Helgesan met the Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunge on Monday to get her views on the agenda for the proposed peace talks.

The president had impressed upon the Norwegian foreign minister that any decision to give the LTTE control of the interim administration of the North East of the country would have to be taken after careful consideration.