The US welcomes the intention of the Sri Lankan Government and the Liberation Tigers Eelam (LTTE) to hold talks in Thailand, September 16 – 18. We are hopeful that the talks will lead to a permanent end to the conflict based on the principles of democracy and respect for human rights, while maintaining Sri Lanka’s territorial integrity. Although the talks are bound to be complex and will take time, we sense that the conditions are favorable for a desirable outcome. We salute the Norwegian Government’s facilitation of the talks and the Thai Government for hosting them. We also note the important and ongoing work of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) in tracking adherence to the February ceasefire accord.