(COLOMBO) – Sri Lankan ex-service personnel intending to travel to Russia will needed to be cleared by Defence Ministry if they are to be allowed into that country, the Island’s Foreign Ministry Ali Sabri said on Wednesday.
Sabri said that he had a constructive meeting with the Russian Ambassador in Colombo, Levan S. Dzhagaryan on Wednesday
“We addressed the urgent situation of Sri Lankans being deployed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and agreed on immediate steps to resolve these issues,” Sabri said, in a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter).
“Russia will now require Sri Lanka Defence Ministry clearance before endorsing visit visas of ex-servicemen.”
He added that the upcoming visit by the Sri Lanka’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Tharaka Balasuriya to Russia will enable further discussions to find a solution to this matter.
An unknown number of Sri Lanka ex-military personnel have been trafficked to the war-torn Russian-Ukraine region to fight as mercenaries on both sides of the conflict and several of them are reported to have been killed and injured.
At least a dozen persons including top former Sri Lankan senior officers have also been arrested in connection with the trafficking scam while a hunt is on for more suspects.
