Russia has not made a proposal to provide fuel to Sri Lanka with a discount of 35% as claimed by opposition MPs, Power and Energy Minister Kanchana Wijesekara said today.
He told Parliament that he met Russian Ambassador and discussed the matter and that he never made such a proposal.
He said this while responding to a question raised by Opposition MP Vasudeva Nanayakkara as to why the government was not purchasing fuel from Russia despite it had offered to provide fuel at a discounted price of 35%.
The Minister said the Russian Ambassador told him that Russian government was not directly involved in fuel trade and gave a list of four Russian Companies that were involved in fuel trade.
“If we are to purchase fuel from them, they only supply fuel outside tender procedure. I have personally written to those four Companies and two if them had responded saying they had acknowledged the letter,” he said.
The Minister requested MP Nanayakkara to mediate to get down fuel from Russia at a lower price if he has any links.
Parliamentarian Wimal Weerawansa said Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe during a meeting with them said fuel could not be purchased from Russia as it would tarnish the ties with the US and asked as to whose comments they should trust.
The Minister said neither the President nor the Prime Minister had informed him not to purchase fuel from any country.
MP Weerawansa said Thailand and Singapore had already entered into trade agreements with Russia and questioned as to why Sri Lanka could not do so.