Saturday, 4 October 2014 01:21
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Washington, DC: The United State Thursday dismissed Sri Lankan media reports which said that Secretary of State John Kerry indicated a softening in the US position on Sri Lanka.
Jen Psaki, Spokesperson of the US State Department at the press briefing said there US policy with regard to Sri Lanka has not changed and it certainly has not softened.
Sri Lankan media reported that President Mahinda Rajapaksa had reportedly told the Cabinet meeting that his discussions with Secretary of State John Kerry had made him realised that the US had softened its stance on Sri Lanka.
Dismissing the report, Psaki said the Secretary Kerry did speak with the Sri Lankan President on the margins of the UN General Assembly to stress that the US position regarding Sri Lanka has not changed.
“The only thing that was right was that the Secretary did speak with the Sri Lankan President on the margins of the UN General Assembly. He did so with the express purpose of conveying that US policy with regard to Sri Lanka has not changed and it certainly has not softened,” Psaki said.
The Spokesperson said the US would like to see the relationship with Sri Lanka improves and reaches the full potential and the Secretary Kerry made it clear to the Sri Lankan President that would happen only if Sri Lanka takes meaningful steps to build a future for all diverse communities.
“We would, of course, like our relationship with Sri Lanka to achieve its full potential, but that will only happen if Sri Lanka builds enduring peace and prosperity for all of its diverse ethnic and religious communities,” she said.
“And that’s why the Secretary, in no uncertain terms, made clear to the President that Sri Lanka needed to take meaningful steps to act like a country that is no longer at war and instead is now building a future that includes all of its citizens.”
“So certainly it had the opposite purpose,” the Spokesperson said.
