Work of oil pumping rigs. File photoMOSCOW, June 12Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe said the country may be forced to buy oil from Russia again. He noted that Sri Lanka is in dire need of fuel and is currently trying to get oil and coal from the country's traditional suppliers in the Middle East.» If we can get (fuel — ed.) from any other sources, then we will get it from there. Otherwise, we may have to turn to Russia again,» the prime minister told the Associated Press. In addition, Wickramasinghe noted, that Russia also offered wheat to Sri Lanka. According to him, severe food shortages in the country could continue until 2024. Bloomberg reported in May that Sri Lanka was buying oil from Russia in light of the country's fuel crisis.
Americans warned of record oil prices Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence in 1948. In mid-April, the Sri Lankan authorities defaulted on their external debt for an interim period in anticipation of a restructuring of these obligations under an IMF-supported economic adjustment program. The island nation's external debt is estimated at $51 billion. The economic crisis is caused by a foreign exchange deficit resulting from the restriction of tourist flow due to the coronavirus pandemic, as a result of which the country cannot purchase enough fuel. There is an acute shortage of food and basic necessities, fuel and gas in the country. Many parts of Sri Lanka are facing power outages due to lack of foreign exchange to import fuel.
