NEW DELHI: Two days before peace talks, Naga insurgent group NSCN (IM) on Sunday insisted that the outfit would stick to its original demand of sovereignty for Nagaland -- a position which may only see a deadlock during the parleys as the government has, time and again, made it clear that sovereignty for the state was not possible.

Blaming the Centre for the delay in finding a solution to the vexed Naga problem, NSCN (IM) general secretary T Muivah said, "We have been talking to the government for a long time and it is high time that the government took the matter seriously. In more than 10 years, they could not solve the problem so they are responsible for it."

Asked whether the outfit had withdrawn the demand for sovereignty for Nagaland, Muivah told reporters it could not be withdrawn because sovereignty was an issue with the people.

"It is the people who should decide their fate and that cannot be withdrawn," Muivah, who came here on Saturday from Amsterdam for peace talks with the government, said.

He said he had come for peace talks as he was invited by Prime Minister Manmhoan Singh and he thought that the PM was serious in solving the problem.

Asked how optimistic he was about the talks, he said, "We have been told that the government has arranged some proposals from their side. I don't know how far that is practicable or acceptable to us."

Besides the PM, Naga leaders will also meet home minister P Chidambaram. Ahead of meetings with political leadership, they will hold talks with the new interlocutor for peace talks R S Pandey (former petroleum secretary) on March 2 and 3.