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Tuesday, 6 December 2016 00:57 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Chathuri Dissanayake
Russia will gradually strengthen its ties with Sri Lanka in the future with more bilateral agreements paving the way for better engagement, Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alexander Karchava, said yesterday.
“We are taking steps to strengthen our ties gradually, in quite a natural way,” he said. A bilateral agreement on fisheries cooperation is being worked out, which will be signed during Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena’s visit to Russia in March next year. The 
two state leaders are to meet on 23 March, while Speaker Karu Jayasuriya is expected to make a visit later in the year.
The Ambassador expected the Russian business sector to look towards investment in Sri Lanka as the Russian economy picks up and expressed that trade relations would grow in the future.
However, Karchava admitted that Russia had lost the status and political influence the country enjoyed in Sri Lanka but claimed that the Russian Government was not concerned about the situation despite the growing influence of the United States and India in Sri Lankan politics.
“We are not going to push or squeeze out anyone from here,” he insisted.
When asked about his Government’s stand on the human rights issues Sri Lanka was dealing with, the Ambassador was quick to point out Russia’s opposition of the UN Human Rights Council’s resolution against the country. However, he insisted that Russia would refrain from involving itself in Sri Lanka’s internal affairs.
“We do not interfere with internal matters,” Karchava insisted.
“But if you are interested in the Russian experience then I invite Chandrika Kumaratunga, who heads the national reconciliation mechanism, to visit Chechnya. We can share our experience with Chechnya, I invite a team from Sri Lanka to fly to Chechnya and learn how we have managed the situation there. The conflict we had with Chechnya was similar to the Sri Lankan conflict,” he said.
Russia’s Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Alexander Karchava, yesterday insisted that former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia and Ukraine, Udayanga Weerathunga, was not involved in the murder of embassy employee Noel Ranaweera.
In a rare media conference held at the new Russian Embassy, Karchava insisted that a local convicted of the crime is currently serving a jail term in Russia. The Sri Lankan, whose death is being investigated, was murdered in 2014. The Second Secretary of the Sri Lankan Embassy sustained gunshot injuries in the same incident, Karchava said.
“The person who was really involved in killing this Sri Lankan person is a Russian national. He is serving his term in prison. Udayanga Weerathunga was not involved,” Karchava said.
The Ambassador also denied any attempt by the Russian Government to protect Weerathunga. He added that Russia had nothing to do with the alleged armed smuggling incidents Weerathunga was accused of, highlighting that although the former Ambassador was based in Russia he was also the Ambassador to Ukraine. (CD)
