The Russian Embassy in Sri Lanka has called on the European Union and its representatives in Colombo to refrain from what it called “irresponsible allegations” against Moscow, after the EU Delegation in Sri Lanka accused Russia of forcibly deporting 20,000 children and concealing information about them.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the embassy rejected the claims as “baseless and false,” insisting that Russia has been rescuing children from the war zone and continues to do so. It expressed gratitude to Qatari mediators for their support in reuniting children with their families.
The statement urged the EU to avoid disseminating untrue information and suggested that officials in Brussels should instead focus on the plight of Ukrainian children in European countries. The embassy also accused the EU of misleading the Ukrainian people with “false promises” of imminent accession to the bloc.
“The Embassy reserves its right to a rigid reaction to any attempts to organize anti-Russian messages or actions,” the statement concluded.
The exchange marks the first publicly documented diplomatic spat in Colombo between the Russian Embassy and the EU Delegation since the war in Ukraine began, with both missions trading positions on social media platform X rather than through formal diplomatic channels.
The pushback comes a day after Russian Ambassador Levan Dzhagaryan met Finance Minister A.J. Fernando and Ceylon Petroleum Corporation Chairman Rajakaruna in Colombo for what was described as bilateral talks on energy cooperation, and follows the Belarus air services agreement signed by Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath earlier the same day — both signalling an active Russian and Eurasian diplomatic agenda in Colombo this week.
