Norway's Foreign Minister Jan Petersen returned to the capital Colombo on Tuesday after talks with the elusive Tiger supremo, Velupillai Prabhakaran, on resuming negotiations, but there was no deal.

"Some issues need to be discussed further before negotiations can start," the Norwegian embassy said in a brief statement after separate talks with Prabhakaran as well as President Chandrika Kumaratunga.

"Norway will continue to consult with the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) in the coming weeks."

Both Kumaratunga and Tiger leader Prabhakaran, however, "reaffirmed their request to Norway to act as facilitator for the process," the statement said.

It quoted Petersen as saying they had "constructive and positive meetings with both parties" and that "there is a clear commitment from the government of Sri Lanka and the LTTE to resume direct negotiations."

The new government here wanted future talks conducted at a venue within Sri Lanka in contrast to the six rounds of talks with the previous government held at overseas venues in Germany, Japan, Norway and Thailand.

But, the Tigers were keen that negotiations be held outside Sri Lanka and be based on their proposal for self-rule, a demand rejected by Kumaratunga before her Marxist-backed Freedom Alliance came to power in April, official sources said.