Rajapaksa has instructed peace officials to start talks with co-chairs

President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he was ready for talks immediately to improve the two sides' 2002 ceasefire.

Tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran had said the rebels would intensify their struggle if there was no settlement within the next year.

President Rajapaksa said he was happy that the LTTE leader has 'accepted his realistic approach' on achieving peace.

Co-chairs

Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera and Sri Lanka Peace Secretariat have been asked to take steps to initiate discussions with the co-chairs of the peace process, a statement issued by the foreign ministry said.

The president said peace talks could begin immediately but he gave no assurances of reaching a settlement by the Tigers' deadline.

	The Tamil Tiger leader says his people have lost patience

The president has said the solution to the ethnic conflict lies with a unitary state, but the rebels' official position is that they want to share power along federal lines.

Mr Rajapakse says he wants the ceasefire renegotiated to halt what he calls "terrorist acts".

The president said: "We can resume work immediately on reviewing the operation of the ceasefire while we prepare ourselves for eventual substantial talks leading to a lasting solution.

"I intend to make the peace process more open and more inclusive than it is now. We are talking about a peace for all the people of this country."

Prabhakaran speech

The Tigers have not yet responded to the latest talks offer but have previously warned a renegotiation could cause the truce to collapse.

It has become increasingly fragile since peace talks reached an impasse in 2003.

Mr Prabhakaran said on Sunday that the Tamil people had "lost patience [and] hope" and he was issuing a "final appeal".

He said Mr Rajapakse should put forward a "reasonable political framework that will satisfy the political aspirations of the Tamil people" soon.

"If the new government rejects our urgent appeal, we will, next year, in solidarity with our people, intensify our struggle for self determination, our struggle for national liberation to establish self-government in our homeland," he said.