Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena addressing the UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday said the country was is "no hurry" in its journey towards reconciliation and lasting peace.
His address, which comes after a number of international calls for increased momentum towards delivering on key concerns of the Tamil people, also stressed that Sri Lanka would formulate its own recipe for reconciliation.
"Sri Lanka, being a free, independent and a sovereign nation with territorial integrity, like all other nations that have gathered here today, will find its own recipe for the reconciliation process and necessary transformation and reform," Mr Sirisena said.
He added such a process would be in line with "respecting the indigenous thinking, that is essential to and accepted by the local people."
"After a war that traumatized the nation for three decades, we have started the journey towards reconciliation and lasting peace. However, we have no hurry. We trod each wise step with care, vigilance, patience and persistence," Mr Sirisena said.
"Sri Lanka is a Buddhist country, where Theravada Buddhism is practice. The teachings of the Buddha help us find solutions to many of the burning issues of the contemporary world", he said, adding, "similarly, I am sure the wisdom offered by the great world religions such as Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and others can help us today."
See full address here.