Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe admitted that the country could not do without oil supplies from Russia, the Associated Press reported.
“If we can get [топливо — «Газета.Ru»] from other sources, then we’ll take it from there. “Otherwise, we may have to go back to Russia,” he said.
Traditionally, Sri Lanka buys energy resources – oil, gas and coal – from Middle Eastern countries.
Sri Lanka is currently experiencing its worst economic crisis since the country gained independence in 1948. Already in April, the authorities temporarily defaulted on their foreign debt, awaiting restructuring. Foreign debt is 51 billion dollars.
Formerly Sri Lanka applied for assistance to a food bank run by the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) due to the economic crisis.
SAARC provides rice and other foodstuffs to participating States during food crises.