WASHINGTON DC (CBS) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton holds a bilateral meeting with Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed Sri Lanka Foreign Minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris to the State Department on Friday (May 18).
In a brief photo-op before their meeting Clinton reaffirmed her support for "reconciliation and reconstruction" in Sri Lanka.
"I am delighted to welcome Minister Peiris, the External Affairs Minister from Sri Lanka. The United States strongly supports the process of reconciliation and reconstruction in Sri Lanka. We have very strong, important ties between our two countries. We were encouraged to the see the end of a very long, bloody, terrible conflict and look forward to working with Sri Lanka as they pursue there commitment to a better future for all the people. The United States wants to be an important partner in those efforts. I'm looking forward to a productive conversation with the Minister," Clinton said.
Peiris' meeting with Clinton comes after a week of talks in Washington after a U.S-backed resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council last month urged Sri Lanka to investigate alleged abuses during the final months of the war with separatist Tamil Tiger rebels.
Rights groups say both the former army chief and the president are implicated in shooting fighters as they sought to surrender. In recent months, rights workers and journalists have been targeted by a government media campaign against "traitors" it says helped the defeated guerrillas.