The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said two days of talks starting February 22 that will end a three-year deadlock in their troubled peace process will focus only on saving the troubled truce.

"The LTTE is not prepared to discuss modifications to the ceasefire or to push the ceasefire aside and waste time talking about a political solution (to the conflict)," the LTTE said in their official magazine "Vuduthalaippulikal".

President Mahinda Rajapakse came to power in November promising to drastically change the peace process and re-negotiate the truce arranged by peace broker Norway.

However, the Tigers said the truce concluded and put into effect from February 23, 2002 was a done deal and there could be no tinkering with it. The talks coincide with the third anniversary of the truce.

More than 60,000 people were killed in three decades of ethnic bloodshed until the truce started, but a new wave of violence erupted in December, putting pressure on the ceasefire.

"The only way to avoid war and create peaceful environment in the Tamil homeland is to implement the ceasefire agreement in full," the LTTE said. "The key to peace talks in the present context is the full implementation of the ceasefire.

"Confidence to proceed with peace talks will be created only if the Mahinda government accepts this ground reality."

The rebels have accused the government of supporting a breakaway faction of the rebels to carry out attacks against the mainstream guerrillas.

At least 153 people were killed in a new wave of fighting after Rajapakse came to power and many of the killings have been blamed on the Tigers who in turn accuse "paramilitary units" of stirring up trouble.

The Colombo government, meanwhile, has begun training its peace team on negotiating skills, a spokesman for Rajapakse's office said.

He said the team headed by Health Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva were at a workshop and were also getting the views of a cross-section of Sri Lankan political parties.