WASHINGTON, May 26 (UPI) -- The United States will attend a conference next week in Brussels to review the peace process in Sri Lanka.
The United States, Norway, Japan and the European Union are together attempting to end a decades old war between Sri Lankan rebels and the government that has claimed hundreds of lives.
The May 31-June 2 conference will allow the nations that provide financial assistance to Sri Lanka to review the peace process.
The governments attending the Brussels meeting are members of the Tokyo-based Conference on Reconstruction and Development of Sri Lanka.
The participants will also review their assistance efforts, discuss humanitarian and basic reconstruction assistance to the war-devastated areas of the country, the U.S. State Department said Wednesday.
They will also express support for the resumption of peace talks between the government of Sri Lanka and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which have been suspended since April 2003.
Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage will represent the United States in the talks.
Armitage will also consult with the North Atlantic Council of NATO on preparations for NATO's Summit in Istanbul and meet with EU High Representative Javier Solana, the State Department said.
