SL President dials Putin; explores options for buying oil, bolstering ties
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday said he had a “very productive” conversation with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to negotiate a credit line for purchasing discounted oil from Moscow to “defeat” the worst economic challenges faced by the island nation.
During their conversation, Rajapaksa also urged Putin to restart the services of the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot to the country.
Sri Lanka is going through the worst economic crisis since its independence from Britain in 1948, and needs to obtain at least USD 4 billion to tide over the acute shortage in foreign exchange reserves.
