Sri Lankan govt and Tamils prepare for peace talks

Sri Lankan government leaders and Tamil rebels made initial contact today at a secluded chateau outside Geneva, Switzerland, before their first direct talks in nearly three years, hoping to shore up a ragged ceasefire agreement and move peace talks back on track.

A Sri Lankan spokesman indicated the government delegation would seek to fix what he called “flaws” in the four-year-old ceasefire agreement, and move the talks beyond the truce to issues of “lasting peace.”