Sri Lanka urges for peaceful resolution to West Asia conflict

Colombo, Mar 3 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday urged all parties involved in the ongoing West Asia conflict to commit to a swift and peaceful resolution, highlighting the conflict's repercussions on the global economy.

President Dissanayake made these remarks while addressing the Parliament.

"We hope all parties would commit to a peaceful resolution of it as it tends to impact the global economy, including Sri Lanka," he said.

“It is beyond our control, but we have to set in contingency plans to face the emerging situation," Dissanayake said.

Referring to long queues at fuel stations since the outbreak of the conflict on February 28, Dissanayake said there was no shortage of fuel in the country.

However, he stressed that Sri Lanka only had limited storage capacity for a long haul of fuel import shortages.

“We have no capacity to hold fuel stocks to meet the demand over 2-3 months," Dissanayake said, adding that the capacity was limited to just 40 days roughly.

“We have to empty the existing stock to pave the way for the incoming shipments”.

"The government and the Central Bank keep monitoring the evolving situation to take all necessary measures," Dissanayake said.

The government on Monday extended the state of emergency to make sure that all essential services are provided without a break, he said. PTI CORR AMS