Russia reiterates fullest support to Sri Lanka

Russia reiterated its fullest support for Sri Lanka to counter challenges it faces at international fora, the visiting Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said today.

Addressing a joint media conference with his Sri Lankan counterpart, Dinesh Gunawardena, Mr. Lavrov said Sri Lanka and Russia shared a common position on various global issues.

While extending Russia’s support to Sri Lanka in dealing with international challenges at UN foras such as the UN Human Rights Council, he appreciated Sri Lanka’s support for Russian initiatives such as measures to combat cybercrimes and disarmament.

Both foreign ministers said the two sides would redouble their efforts to increase bilateral trade and achieve the set target of US$ 700 million. In 2018, Sri Lanka-Russia bilateral trade stood at US389 million.

Mr. Lavrov also said he invited President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to visit Russia.

Mr. Gunawardena said Sri Lanka extended its deep appreciation to Russia for its unequivocal support for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

“We face numerous challenges in multilateral fora, where we continue to support each other,” Mr. Gunawardena said.

He said that during the talks he had with Mr. Lavrov, the two countries renewed their commitment to further consolidate and transform their bilateral cooperation into a viable, results-oriented and mutually beneficial partnership.

The two countries agreed to increase cooperation in agriculture, food economy, fisheries, water management, education, including technical and vocational education, trade and investment, tourism, security and defence, including counter-terrorism, science and technology, renewable energy and oil exploration.

During the brief question and answer session with the Russian and Sri Lankan journalists, Mr. Lavrov spoke about his country’s peacemaking role in the Libyan conflict, which he said was aggravated by the criminal bombing by NATO.

Commenting on the Moscow peace process aimed at bringing about a ceasefire between Libya’s warring factions, the visiting foreign minister said Russia was working with European and regional powers such as Turkey to bring normalcy to Libya.

On the current Iran-United States tensions, Mr. Lavrov said his country would not intervene in the crisis, but would like to see a de-escalation soon as the crisis had the potency to destabilize not only the region but the entire world.

He blamed the United States for escalating the tension with Iran. The US first called Iran ‘the root of all evils’, and then withdrew two years ago from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the nuclear deal Iran and six world powers signed and these hostile moves culminated in the killing of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard commander Qassem Soleimani, he said.

He described the killing of Soleimani as a horrendous act, as Soleimani was visiting Iraq on an official visit at the invitation of Iraq. “The killing of Soleimani goes against all norms of international behaviour,” he said.

He said Russia urged both Iran and the United States to exercise restraint. He expressed hope that diplomatic efforts undertaken by French President Emanuel Macron and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would bear fruit.

Pix by Indika Handuwala