COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s president says he urged his Russian counterpart to help his cash-strapped island nation import fuel as it faces its worst economic crisis in decades.
Short of foreign exchange due to years of economic mismanagement and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis, Sri Lanka has been struggling to import essentials, leading to severe shortages of medicine, food and fuel. “Had a very productive telecon with the #Russia President, Vladimir Putin,” President Gotabaya Rajapaksa wrote in a tweet on Wednesday. “While thanking him for all the support extended by his govt to overcome the challenges of the past, I requested an offer of credit support to import fuel to #lka in defeating the current econ challenges,” he added.
Western nations largely have cut off energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine. –Agencies
