COLOMBO — Sri Lanka has asked Russia to provide fuel and resume tourist flights to help the country weather its unprecedented economic crisis, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said Wednesday. Sri Lanka had bought around 90,000 tonnes of Siberian crude in May through an intermediary in Dubai, but ran out of dollars to purchase more. Russia and Ukraine were among the top sources of tourists for Sri Lanka before February’s conflict began. Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic downturn since it gained independence from Britain in 1948. European nations, Australia and the United States have asked their citizens to avoid travelling to Sri Lanka because of the deepening crisis.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer July 07, 2022 16:55 UTC