Sri Lanka is turning to Russia for overcoming the grave fuel crisis while renewing the bilateral ties at a time where the country has been depending on US , India, China, Japan and even Bangladesh credit lines.
Russia has received an appeal from Sri Lanka for help in overcoming the energy crisis raging in the country and is now considering the next steps to provide assistance, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Last Thursday, Sri Lankan Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera told reporters that Colombo is counting on Moscow to help overcome the energy crisis and acute shortage of energy resources by receiving Russian oil supplies.
“We can confirm that such appeals have indeed been received by the Government of the Russian Federation and the Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka,” the ministry told Sputnik.
The ministry added that the question of how Moscow can help Colombo is still under consideration and that it is too early to talk about concrete steps
Russia has already purchased 90000 MT Russian crude oil shipment through a private procurement deal by paying US $ 72 million to run the Sapugaskanda oil refinery recently and the stock is now exhausted compelling the authorities shout down the refinery.
Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe said he may be compelled to buy more oil from Russia as he hunts desperately for fuel to keep the country running amid a dire economic crisis
The Sri Lankan envoy in Moscow, Prof. Janitha Liyanage yesterday said that Sri Lanka has sought a US$ 300 million Credit Line from Russia to purchase crude oil, gas and coal.
“We have made a request to the Russian Government through the Sri Lankan Foreign Minister to have a credit line to purchase crude oil, gas and coal from Russia”, she said, adding that the Ambassador said that Russia had earlier offered a US$ 500 million credit line to the country.
An intergovernmental agreement between the two countries on cooperation and mutual assistance in customs matters is being prepared for signing.
The intergovernmental commission noted the prospects for cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including the construction of nuclear power plants, as well as the use of nuclear technology in medicine and agriculture.
In the interest of ensuring the energy security of the island, Russia also intends to increase the supply of coal and petroleum products, and cooperation in the hydropower industry is also planned in the future.
There is potential in the civil aviation, construction, chemical and pharmaceutical industries,diplomatic sources said.
