Colombo: Sri Lankathe president of Gotabaya Rajapakse said on Wednesday that he had a telephone call with the Russian leader Vladimir Putin For requesting credit assistance to import fuel for the island nation facing its worst economic crisis in memory.
“had a very productive telecon with Russia President Vladimir Putin. Rajapaksa said in a tweet, “Thank you for all the support extended by his government to overcome the challenges of the past, I offer to offer credit assistance to #lka to import fuel to defeat the current economic challenges.” the requested.
Western countries have largely cut energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranili Wickremesinghe Earlier said that the government would first look for other sources but it has not been successful.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, global oil prices have skyrocketed, prompting many countries to seek Russian crude, which is being offered at steep discounts.
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has led to severe fuel shortages, forcing the government to close schools and ask employees other than essential services to work from home to cut consumption of limited stocks. The government had earlier said that no entity is ready to supply oil to Sri Lanka even for cash as it has huge debts on Petroleum Corporation.
Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange crunch caused foreign debt repayments to be postponed in April, pending the outcome of negotiations for a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund. Although Wickremesinghe said Parliament Discussions with the IMF on Tuesday have been complicated and difficult as Sri Lanka is now a bankrupt nation.
Unlike in the past, when Sri Lanka entered negotiations as a developing country, this time it has to submit a debt stability report to the IMF for approval before any agreement can be reached.
Sri Lanka’s external debt is $51 billion, of which it will have to pay $28 billion by the end of 2027. That means paying an average of $5 billion for the next five years.
For the past months, Sri Lankans have been forced to stand in long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas and limited stocks of food items. The crisis has led to months of street protests and scuffles with police at gas stations.
“had a very productive telecon with Russia President Vladimir Putin. Rajapaksa said in a tweet, “Thank you for all the support extended by his government to overcome the challenges of the past, I offer to offer credit assistance to #lka to import fuel to defeat the current economic challenges.” the requested.
Western countries have largely cut energy imports from Russia in line with sanctions over its war on Ukraine. Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranili Wickremesinghe Earlier said that the government would first look for other sources but it has not been successful.
Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, global oil prices have skyrocketed, prompting many countries to seek Russian crude, which is being offered at steep discounts.
Sri Lanka’s economic crisis has led to severe fuel shortages, forcing the government to close schools and ask employees other than essential services to work from home to cut consumption of limited stocks. The government had earlier said that no entity is ready to supply oil to Sri Lanka even for cash as it has huge debts on Petroleum Corporation.
Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange crunch caused foreign debt repayments to be postponed in April, pending the outcome of negotiations for a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund. Although Wickremesinghe said Parliament Discussions with the IMF on Tuesday have been complicated and difficult as Sri Lanka is now a bankrupt nation.
Unlike in the past, when Sri Lanka entered negotiations as a developing country, this time it has to submit a debt stability report to the IMF for approval before any agreement can be reached.
Sri Lanka’s external debt is $51 billion, of which it will have to pay $28 billion by the end of 2027. That means paying an average of $5 billion for the next five years.
For the past months, Sri Lankans have been forced to stand in long lines to buy fuel, cooking gas and limited stocks of food items. The crisis has led to months of street protests and scuffles with police at gas stations.