Mr. Armitage gave this assurance in a statement issued yesterday on the occasion of the US Presidential election.
"Let me assure you that no matter who is President, America will fight terrorism and will help our partners, such as the government of Sri Lanka" he said in the statement and urged the LTTE to give up terrorist activities and get back to talks.
"I call upon the LTTE to renounce terror and to return to the negotiating table" urged the US Deputy Secretary of State. Commenting on the US election Mr. Armitage observed that no matter who would ultimately be declared the winner, the election itself is a victory for all Americans.
"With two hundred and eighteen years of elections behind us, the United States is the world's oldest continuous democracy" and with another peaceful election behind the nation the day of the election marked another "victory for all Americans regardless of the outcome of the elections", the Deputy Secretary added.
Quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill that "democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others" he maintained that just like any other democracy the US democracy too continues to evolve and as a result is in a way "young in political life".
He said both the US and Sri Lanka being democracies, is one of the foremost reasons for the two countries to enjoy " a strong and a productive relationship".
Of the peace process in Sri Lanka, Mr. Armitage said he sincerely hoped that "all Sri Lankans - Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims, Veddahs and Burghers" will benefit from peace and would together reject a "return of the disastrous wars of the past". In a lighter vein he had added "I am sorry to say that neither President Bush nor John Kerry is likely to deepen the American understanding of the finer points of cricket".
