Sri Lanka rejects Tiger talks: report

The Sri Lankan government has rejected a US-led call to negotiate terms of surrender by the Tamil Tiger rebels, the country's defence secretary was quoted as saying in a report Thursday.

Gotabhaya Rajapakse said he would only accept the complete surrender of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) who are facing imminent defeat, the privately-run Island newspaper reported.

Sri Lanka's key international backers -- the United States, European Union, Japan and Norway -- on Tuesday asked the Tigers to lay down their arms, negotiate terms of surrender and take part in a political dialogue.

"Nothing could be as ridiculous as this," Rajapakse said. "Nothing short of unconditional surrender of arms and cadres could bring an end to the offensive."