Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath held talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on the sidelines of the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York, and used the meeting to repeat Sri Lanka’s call for de-escalation in the region.
The two ministers exchanged views on current regional and international developments, Herath said in a post on X, reported by Daily Mirror.
Herath said he reiterated Sri Lanka’s call for the de-escalation of tensions and the peaceful settlement of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy, and encouraged the continuation of negotiations aimed at restoring regional stability at the earliest.
Hiru News reported that Herath also reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s support for all efforts to reduce tensions in the region and resolve the issues behind them.
Sri Lanka’s position
The formulation is consistent with the line Colombo has held through the current Gulf crisis: Sri Lanka has avoided taking sides, framing its interest in terms of regional stability and negotiated settlement rather than endorsing any party’s position.
That interest is concrete. Sri Lanka depends on seaborne energy imports and on shipping lanes running through the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, and disruption to either raises fuel costs and freight rates directly.
The wider week
The meeting took place during the High-Level Week of the 81st General Assembly, where Herath is leading the Sri Lankan delegation. He delivered Sri Lanka’s national statement at the General Debate on 28 September.
Araghchi has been working an active diplomatic circuit in New York. LankaNewz reported earlier this week on Iran’s seven-day offer on the Strait of Hormuz and the US response, and on India’s foreign minister meeting Araghchi and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov on the same margins.
Neither report gives further detail on what was discussed between Colombo and Tehran beyond the regional situation, and neither mentions bilateral matters such as trade or Sri Lanka’s historic oil debt to Iran.
