Sri Lanka looks for amicable settlement of Aeroflot issue: Minister of Aviation

Minister of Aviation Nimal Siripala de Silva today said that Sri Lanka, with the aim of resolving the Aeroflot dispute amicably, will make submissions to the Courts tomorrow.

Minister de Silva addressing a media conference at the Ministry said the Attorney General will be making submissions urging courts to take into consideration the inconvenience to passengers, loss of revenue to Sri Lanka by the way of Tourism and the diplomatic issues. 

"We will abide by the ruling and not try to give directions to courts," he said.

He said he had briefed the Russian Ambassador in Sri Lanka and told him that was not an issue of the state, but entirely a commercial issue.

He said Sri Lanka was ready to release the aircraft currently held at the Bandaranaike International Airport as the enjoining order had no binding on the Aviation Authority and should have been on the Director General Civil Aviation Authority. 

He said though the Russian Ambassador was informed of this position they did not try to secure the release as the enjoining order was on Aeroflot as well.

He said Russia had been fully briefed about the situation by Sri Lanka's Ambassador in Russia Janitha Liyanage. 

Meanwhile an Aroflot Airlines Airbus A330-300 which arrived empty from Moscow this morning to take back 275 Russians in Colombo, departed a short while ago from BIA. They Include 191 passengers and crew members.