Russian, Sri Lankan Foreign Ministers Hold 'Very Positive Conversation' - Ambassador

Russian, Sri Lankan Foreign Ministers Hold 'Very Positive Conversation' - Ambassador

Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Russia Dayan Jayatilleka has hailed in comments to Sputnik the Tuesday talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Sri Lankan counterpart, Dinesh Gunawardena, as "wide-ranging and very positive

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th January, 2020) Sri Lanka's Ambassador to Russia Dayan Jayatilleka has hailed in comments to Sputnik the Tuesday talks between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Sri Lankan counterpart, Dinesh Gunawardena, as "wide-ranging and very positive."

Lavrov arrived in Colombo, the first stop on his Asia tour, in the early hours of Tuesday to discuss bilateral, regional and international issues with top Sri Lankan officials. This is the first visit by the Russian diplomat to the island country after its presidential election in November 2019 and the appointment of a new government.

"All of us have just listened and watched the joint press conference of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Foreign Minister Dinesh Gunawardena of Sri Lanka, and that is self-explanatory that there have been a wide-ranging and very positive conversation between Russia and Sri Lanka at the level of the foreign ministers. And the invitation has been extended to the new president, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, to visit the Russian Federation, and to the foreign minister, Dinesh Gunawardena. And this is a good thing," Jayatilleka stated.

The ambassador said that Lavrov and Gunawardena discussed numerous issues, including Moscow and Colombo's cooperation in security, counterterrorism and science.

"The issues [that] were listed by the both foreign minister at the joint press conference, they range from counterterrorism and security cooperation to education and scientific cooperation and prospects for greater Russian investments. I would say it is a full spectrum of cooperation," he said.

The ambassador added that both Russia and Sri Lanka are interested in the peaceful and stable world without any military conflicts and aggression. According to him, Moscow and Colombo also stand for national independence, sovereignty of states and are committed to fight against terrorism.

Lavrov's Asia tour will also include India and Uzbekistan.