Former President blames govt over Russian plane fiasco

Former President Maithripala Sirisena says he is deeply saddened by the actions of the present government that threaten Sri Lanka’s deep-rooted historical relationship with Russia.

The leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) was referring to the recent diplomatic row between the two nations over the Aeroflot flight detained at BIA in Katunayake.

“Russia is our old friend since the Soviet era. This historical relationship was further strengthened during my tenure as president,” Sirisena said in a twitter message today. 

“Today I’m deeply saddened by the actions of the present government that threaten our deep-rooted historical relationship.”

“I believe our continued close cooperation would be significant for us in facing the current socio-economic issues arising in the globe,” the former President said.

Court on Monday suspended the order preventing the detained Aeroflot flight from leaving Sri Lanka, paving the way for the Russian flag carrier’s aircraft to depart for Moscow.

The Airbus A330-343 aircraft, scheduled to depart from the Colombo airport to Moscow on June 2 with 191 passengers and 13 crew members, was not allowed as the owner of the aircraft -- Celestial Aviation of Ireland -- had filed a case against Aeroflot, pending arbitration on the lease of the aircraft in London.

The Sri Lankan government has maintained that the dispute between the Aeroflot and Celestial Aviation was purely of a commercial nature which should be dealt between the said two parties and no involvement of the state.

However, the Russian government had summoned the Sri Lankan Ambassador in Moscow for an explanation.