Sri Lanka send ministers to Russia to negotiate petroleum

• Sri Lanka sending two ministers to Russia to talk about getting oil.
• The island nation is almost out of fuel because of its bad economy. Residents have had to wait hours or days for fuel, often resorting to cooking with leaves and charcoal.
• Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera urges people not to line up for fuel this weekend.

Sri Lanka is sending two ministers to Russia to talk about getting oil, which the island country in the Indian Ocean is almost out of because of its bad economy.

Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekera said that two ministers were going to Russia to meet with Russian officials in person to talk about buying fuel directly and other important issues.

Read more: After waiting 5 days in a fuel station queue in Sri lanka, truck driver dies

Next week, restricted quantities of fuel will be given to limited stations, he said.

He said until the next shipments arrived, “public transport, power generators, and industries will be given a priority”.

Residents have had to wait hours or even days to obtain fuel, often resorting to cooking with charcoal or palm leaves.

Mr. Wijesekera’s remarks coincide with the visit of a high-level US delegation to Sri Lanka.

It is looking for ways to help the island nation deal with an economic crisis that has never happened before and a severe lack of supplies.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine at the end of February, oil prices around the world have risen.

Read more: Sri Lanka hikes fuel prices as US delegation arrives

Sri Lanka, like other South Asian nations, has remained neutral in the European conflict.

Mr Wijesekera stated, however, that the foreign ministry and the Sri Lankan envoy in Russia were arranging a petroleum sale.

“There is an advantage for us if we could buy oil directly from the Russian government or the Russian firms,” he said.