On April 26, 2019 H. E. Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in Russia, and an official Sri Lankan delegation, comprised of Mr. N.K.G.K Nammawatta, Secretary, State Ministry of Defence of Sri Lanka, and Mr. Wimal S.K. Liyanagama, Senior Assistant Secretary, Defence, held a meeting with Deputy Director of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) Mr. Mikhail Petukhov, as well as other officials of the authority and a representative of the JSC Rosoboronexport.
When greeting the delegation, the FSMTC Deputy Director conveyed condolences in the wake of horrifying terrorist acts and expressed his hope that “all those involved will be exposed and heavily punished”.
At the meeting, the parties discussed subjects of current cooperation between Sri Lanka and Russia and reaffirmed the commitment of both countries to further development of interstate partnership in the military and technical sector.
While addressing representatives of the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, H. E. Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka highlighted that Sri Lanka has begun reconfiguration of its security systems and structures in order to ensure that terrorist acts would not happen again. At the same time, it was stated by the Ambassador of Sri Lanka to Russia that “whatever the outcome of this extreme crisis and the possibility of transition”, the country [Sri Lanka] is focused on combating terrorism and strengthening the protection of coastlines that represent easy points of importation of weapons. Furthermore, H. E. Dr. Dayan Jayatilleka referred to Russia as “a friend and a reliable partner of Sri Lanka” that also manufactures military equipment of high quality, and as a country that “had successfully defeated the type of terrorism, currently being experienced by Sri Lanka”.
FSMTC Deputy Director Petukhov, in his turn, expressed his hope for a “short and painless” transition of Sri Lanka and indicated the readiness of Russian security authorities to cooperate with their Sri Lankan counterparts, which would lead to “strengthening of Sri Lanka’s military power and lowering the levels of terrorism threats”.
