Professor Janita Liyanage, Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia, says that the Russian government has agreed to supply fossil fuel to Sri Lanka at a concessionary rate.
Sri Lanka is presently mired in a foreign exchange crisis. The ambassador says that as a result of a discussion former ambassador Dr Saman Weerasinghe had with the Russian authorities, the Russian authorities have decided to provide a commercial loan to Sri Lanka on a concessionary basis.
Even now, a significant amount of the fuel required by Sri Lanka is imported from Russia, and sources indicate that it is often procured from private buyers under the local tender system.
The Financial Times, quoting two international companies dealing in petroleum market analysis mentioned that many countries, including Sri Lanka, which is facing a severe foreign exchange crisis, have purchased oil from Russia at a lower price.
It is said that these countries are buying oil based on the current concessionary rates in the Russian oil market, which has collapsed due to European sanctions, and thus Sri Lanka has taken steps to import 79 per cent of Sri Lanka’s fuel orders, i.e. 2.1 million barrels, from Russia during the 05 months up to last May.
