Colombo - A senior US diplomat is set to visit MaldivesThursday for talks with the government and opposition leaders as a political crisis in the country deepens.
Robert Blake, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, is also due to meet with anti-drug trafficking activists and religious leaders, a US embassy spokesman in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo said.
The tourism-dependent country has been in turmoil since the cabinet resigned on June 29 in protest at blocking tactics by the parliamentary opposition, who have a slim majority in the Maldivian Majlis.
The cabinet was restored on July 8 after intervention by Sri Lanka's president, but fresh protests followed after the arrest of an opposition leader.
The US called on the Maldives to accept foreign mediation toresolve the rift between President Mohamed Nasheed's ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the opposition.
US Ambassador for Sri Lanka and Maldives Patricia Butenis hasalready hosted talks between the two sides.
On Tuesday, opposition lawmaker and deputy parliamentary speaker, Ahmed Nazim and MDP-legislator Mohamed Musthafa were arrested for allegedly bribing a judge in a civil case, but released later.
Nazim was already under a 15-day house arrest on a similar charge of bribing fellow parliamentarians to block government bills.
Robert Blake, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, is also due to meet with anti-drug trafficking activists and religious leaders, a US embassy spokesman in the Sri Lankan capital Colombo said.
The tourism-dependent country has been in turmoil since the cabinet resigned on June 29 in protest at blocking tactics by the parliamentary opposition, who have a slim majority in the Maldivian Majlis.
The cabinet was restored on July 8 after intervention by Sri Lanka's president, but fresh protests followed after the arrest of an opposition leader.
The US called on the Maldives to accept foreign mediation toresolve the rift between President Mohamed Nasheed's ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the opposition.
US Ambassador for Sri Lanka and Maldives Patricia Butenis hasalready hosted talks between the two sides.
On Tuesday, opposition lawmaker and deputy parliamentary speaker, Ahmed Nazim and MDP-legislator Mohamed Musthafa were arrested for allegedly bribing a judge in a civil case, but released later.
Nazim was already under a 15-day house arrest on a similar charge of bribing fellow parliamentarians to block government bills.
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