COLOMBO -- Sri Lanka's main opposition Friday warned that proposed peace talks between the government and Tamil Tiger rebels may not take place and the country could slide back into conflict.

Former foreign minister Lakshman Kadirgamar said there were no signs that an agenda had been prepared for the negotiations due to take place at a neutral venue in Thailand.

Kadirgamar, who handled the previous government's peace process with the rebels, told Reuters both Colombo and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) have started trading allegations, AFP reported.

"The process of allegations and counter allegations is taking center stage," Kadirgamar said. "One cannot discount the possibility that the parties will never sit down to talks." His remarks came a day after the government admitted delays in launching the formal talks aimed at ending decades of ethnic bloodshed that has claimed more than 60,000 lives.

Kadirgamar, a member of Parliament from President Chandrika Kumaratunga's opposition People's Alliance, said his party was not seeking a place at the talks as it was unaware of the agenda for the negotiations.

"We are now in a state of a hiatus," Kadirgamar said. "No one knows what is going on." Norway has been trying to prepare an agenda for the talks and has given a questionnaire to both the Sri Lankan government and the Tamil Tigers.

The Tigers have insisted that they will not enter talks unless a 1998 ban on them is lifted and the government fully implements the provisions of a cease-fire agreement that went into effect from February 23.

The People's Alliance had earlier insisted that the ban on the Tigers should not be lifted until after the opening of the talks, but the party appeared to have climbed down Friday.

Kadirgamar said the de-proscription could be linked to bona fides on the part of the LTTE and that the opposition was not against the government's stand that the ban will be removed 10 days before the talks open.

Constitutional Affairs Minister G.L. Peiris said Thursday that the government was satisfied with the progress of the cease-fire, but admitted there were problems to be resolved before opening formal talks.

"We are not unduly concerned about a slight delay.

What is important is the stability of the process," Peiris told reporters.

"The date is a secondary issue." Kadirgamar said the opposition supported the idea of establishing an interim administration to run the island's embattled northern and eastern regions, but it should not be taken up in isolation of other issues.

"Otherwise, there is a danger of the interim solution leading to a de facto situation that will become the permanent solution. That is a recipe for permanent disaster," Kadirgamar said.

A London-based pro-LTTE newspaper, the ***Tamil Guardian***, said Wednesday that the Norwegian-backed initiative was in the "doldrums" and accused the Colombo government of reneging on a pledge to restore normalcy in embattled areas.

Peiris who is the key figure in the government's negotiating team, discounted the report and said the process was moving well. He said the sides had not faced any problem that could not be resolved through discussions.

"No one expected that there will be no problems.

If the issues involved were easy, then this problem would have been resolved a long time ago," Peiris said. "What is important is the thoroughness of the process.