I took over a country isolated by the International Community – President

“I took over a country isolated by the international community,” Mr. Sirisena said, after a marathon set of speeches and meetings. “The main challenge I faced was to win over the international community. I believe these efforts have borne fruit,” President Maithripala Sirisena has told the New York Times during his visit to the US for the UN General Assembly.

Mr. Sirisena, over tea at his hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon, said the court would be established after what he called careful consultations with religious leaders, politicians and military officials.

Asked for evidence, his ambassador to the United States, Prasad Kariyawasam, jumped in to say that the president had been offered a seat at the head table at lunch with Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, along with Mr. Obama and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. Mr. Sirisena said his offer of assistance in peacekeeping efforts had been welcomed.

Mr. Sirisena promised to help with more soldiers, including special forces units and experts on clearing unexploded ordnance. It put the onus on the United Nations system to carefully vet those soldiers, and roles they might have played in Sri Lanka’s own war.

In the interview on Wednesday, Mr. Sirisena was unwilling to commit himself to any particular judicial mechanism, saying he would keep an open mind and make sure it was in keeping with Sri Lanka’s Constitution.

Sri Lanka does not allow foreign lawyers to practice in its courts, an aide to the president said later, and it was not possible for the country to set up a new international court without amending the Constitution, which would be extremely difficult politically.

“The mechanism must be domestic,” Mr. Sirisena said.