In a statement issued by the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombo, the Norwegian authorities catigorically denies the media speculation.

"The Norwegian embassy categorically denies that Norway has conveyed a warning to the Government of Sri Lanka and international donors that it is considering a suspension of its role as facilitator to the Peace Process."

The statement was issued in response to an article published in the "Daily Mirror" newspaper. It said, "the LTTE may withdraw from the ceasefire agreement and Norway may suspend its role as facilitator if the government fails to set up a joint mecahnism with the LTTE before the end of April to handle tsunami rebuilding in the northeast, informed sources said yesterday."

in its statement, the Norwegian Embassy also raises concern about the motives of the news report. "Local media refers to anonymous “sources”. We can only assume that these so-called sources neither wish the post-tsunami rebuilding efforts or the Peace Process well."

The statement expresses deep concern about the editorial standards of the media organisation. "We expect that serious media outlets in the future will check these kinds of outrageous claims with the embassy prior to publication."