‘Rajapaksa may return to Sri Lanka next week’

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who fled the crisis-hit island nation last month amid mass protests, is expected to return to the country next week, according to a Senior Minister.
Foreign Minister Ali Sabry told foreign media late Wednesday the Sri Lankan government had been told of Rajapaksa’s return “through diplomatic channels.”
“Officially we have no role in the return. He is a citizen of Sri Lanka and can travel as he wishes,” Sabry said.
Rajapaksa’s estranged cousin Udayanga Weeratunga, a former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia, told reporters Wednesday the former leader would return on August 24. –Agencies