The National Patriotic Front (NPF) has demanded that President Anura Kumara Dissanayake explain the status of negotiations with Russia to secure energy supplies, alleging “various interested parties within the government and the Western diplomatic community” have hindered an agreement.
NPF General Secretary Dr. Wasantha Bandara, responding to The Island, said Sri Lanka was in such a desperate situation that the current dispensation could not afford to miss the opportunity. He pointed out that Colombo had received two Russian delegations in late March and early April — Deputy Energy Minister Roman Marshavin and Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko — focused on long-term fuel supplies, investment and tourism.
Bandara said new Energy Minister Anura Karunatilleke, who succeeded Kumara Jayakody after the coal scam, had not yet met Russian Ambassador Levan Dzhagaryan, who is seeking to expedite the process. Instead, Karunatilleke and Deputy Civil Aviation Minister Janaka Ruwan Kodithuwakku recently met British High Commissioner Andrew Patrick to discuss UK partnerships in ports, airports and offshore wind.
The NPF wrote to President Dissanayake on 27 April warning of “catastrophic consequences” if Sri Lanka failed to obtain energy on affordable terms. The letter argued Sri Lanka could secure Russian crude at $150–160 per barrel, lower than procurement through India, and urged the government to maintain close ties with China, Russia and Iran.
Bandara also linked the dispute to the Lakvijaya coal scandal, saying the trouble started after Sri Lanka switched from Russian coal to South African product through the disgraced Indian firm Trident Chemphar Ltd. He called on parties across Parliament to take up the matter and “not be distracted by NPP strategies.”
The Russian energy track has not produced a concrete supply contract since the March political-level talks in Colombo.
