The Sri Lankan government says it will begin peace talks with Tamil Tiger rebels in early May. 

A spokesman, Justice Minister G.L. Peiris, made the announcement in the capital, Colombo, Wednesday. He said both sides agreed that the time is right to begin face-to-face talks aimed at ending nearly two decades of ethnic bloodshed. 

The spokesman did not say where the talks would take place. New reports say Thailand is being considered as a possible venue. 

A rebel statement, posted on their internet website, said the talks would begin as soon as the terms of a Norwegian-mediated cease-fire deal are fully implemented. 

Tamil rebels want the government to lift a ban imposed on them in 1998. The government says it is ready to discuss the issue, but wants the rebels to make a firm commitment to the peace process. Tuesday, a Norwegian mediator met with top rebel leaders in northern Sri Lanka to discuss implementation of the truce deal. 

The reclusive rebel chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran, his political leader S. Thamilselvan and London-based rebel negotiator Anton Balasingham participated in the meeting. 

Prospects for peace talks, the first in seven years, rose sharply after the Colombo government and Tamil rebels signed the cease-fire deal last month. 

Tamil rebels have been fighting for an independent Tamil homeland in northern and eastern Sri Lanka since 1983. Tamils have long complained of being discriminated against by the country's Sinhalese majority. More than 60,000 people have been killed in the civil war. 

Some information for this report provided by AP. 

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