NEW DELHI, May 29 (Xinhua) -- The Indian government Monday clarified that it had not sent any message to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger guerrillas on the island's floundering peace process.

    Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna was reacting to published reports that Indian National Security Adviser M.K. Narayanan passed on a message to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) through Norwegian minister Erik Solheim when the two met here Saturday.

    "As you know, we have for several years been sharing our assessments with the Norwegians about the developments in Sri Lanka and the peace process. This does not amount to sending any messages to LTTE or any other party," Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) quoted Sarna as saying.

    "We conveyed to Solheim our well known view that there must be a peaceful, negotiated settlement that is acceptable to all sections of the Sri Lankan society and which preserves the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka," Sarna said.

    India also lent its support to an early resumption of talks between the Sri Lankan government and LTTE and reiterated its support for a "peaceful negotiated settlement" of the conflict in the island nation, according to IANS.

    "Norway is continuing in its efforts to bring both parties to the table for a political dialogue. We support Norway in its efforts and express the hope that talks can resume at the earliest," Sarna said.

    In his meeting with Narayanan Saturday, Solheim had briefed himon escalating violence in Sri Lanka and again urged New Delhi to play a bigger role in restoring peace and stability in the island nation. Enditem