by Our Correspondent in Colombo
As the United States, India, and China continue to vie for influence in Sri Lanka, Russia has reiterated its interest in establishing a nuclear power plant in the country. The Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Levan Dzhagaryan, stated that Moscow hopes to engage in further discussions with Sri Lanka’s Minister of Power regarding the proposal. Speaking at a media briefing held at the Russian Cultural Centre in Colombo, Ambassador Dzhagaryan emphasized Moscow’s respect for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty. “Sri Lanka is a sovereign country. Unlike other external actors, we do not interfere in the internal affairs of sovereign nations. As you know, progress has been made on the nuclear power plant project, but it is up to Sri Lanka to decide, as the ball is now in their court,” he said.
The proposal was first presented during the previous administration of Ranil Wickremesinghe. Observers suggest that Moscow may have considered it easier to advance the initiative under a leftist-led JVP government than under the pro-American Wickremesinghe administration. However, JVP leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake declined a personal invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to attend the BRICS summit in Russia, signaling a cautious stance toward Moscow. The historical relationship between Russia and the JVP dates back to the party’s founder, Rohana Wijeweera. In the early 1960s, Wijeweera received support for a scholarship to study in Moscow, but after falling ill and being advised that his health was unsuitable for academic pursuits, he returned to Sri Lanka with growing hostility toward Soviet communism, instead aligning with the Chinese communist line. This historical animosity may help explain the JVP’s reluctance to forge closer ties with Russia today, as aligning with Moscow could risk tensions with the United States while straining relations with China.
During the same media briefing, Russian Embassy spokesperson German Fedorov addressed Moscow’s concerns regarding Ukraine’s recently adopted law on national memory, titled “On the Fundamentals of State Policy of National Memory of the Ukrainian People,” passed by the Verkhovna Rada on August 21. Fedorov argued that the legislation represents a state-sanctioned attempt to erase Russian heritage and Soviet history in Ukraine. According to him, the law builds on what Russia describes as a neo-Nazi ideology, glorifying controversial nationalist figures such as Stepan Bandera and Roman Shukhevych, while prohibiting Soviet symbols, including the St. George ribbon and references to the Great Patriotic War. He further claimed that the legislation violates Ukraine’s constitution, its international obligations, and United Nations resolutions against the glorification of Nazism, and warned that such measures undermine peacebuilding efforts involving Russia and the United States.
