Lanka vows tough line on terror

President Mahinda Rajapakse told diplomats that his government will take "all necessary measures to deter further terror attacks," his office said in a statement.

Diplomats from the quartet known as "co-chairs," or the entities that helped raise money in support of the island's peace bid, met the president in the wake of Saturday's suicide bombing of a navy gunboat by a suspected Tamil Tiger official.

The attack that killed 15 sailors was the worst single loss suffered by security forces since a Norwegian-brokered truce went into effect in 2002 and sparked fears that the country could slip back to war.

"The ambassadors of the co-chairs expressed their strong appreciation of the restraint and responsibility shown by the government in the face of escalating attacks by the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam)," the statement said.

It said the president told the diplomats from the United States, the European Union, Norway and Japan that Colombo was ready to open peace talks with the Tigers at any time, but was awaiting word from the guerrillas.