Sri Lanka PM Wickremesinghe denies tiff with Russia, says Aeroflot a 'private legal issue'

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has informed Russian officials that the Aeroflot plane issue is a private legal matter rather than a dispute between two governments. His statement came a day after Russia's Aeroflot airline suspended its commercial flight to Colombo over the seizure of its Airbus A330 jet by the Sri Lankan authorities. According to a spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office, the Sri Lankan premier discussed the matter with the country's foreign ministry and advised it on what should be the way forward. 

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement that the Commercial High Court of the Western Province issued an 'Enjoining Order' on the Aeroflot flight, preventing it to depart from Bandaranaike International Airport. "The case relates to a commercial dispute between the Plaintiff, Celestial Aviation Trading 10 Limited, an Irish Company, against the first Defendant the Public Joint Stock Company "Aeroflot '' and the second Defendant, Mr NC Abeywardene, acting Head of Air Navigation, Airport and Aviation Services of Sri Lanka (AASL), Katunayake,” the statement said, Daily Mirror, reported. 

The matter is pending in court, hearing scheduled for June 8

According to the statement, the case is still pending in court and is being discussed through conventional diplomatic channels. Sri Lanka's Commercial High Court stated that the disagreement between the Russian airline and Celestial Aviation Trading Limited (CATL) was entirely a commercial matter that should be resolved between the two parties, with no government interference. Sri Lanka's Airport and Aviation Services stated that a court hearing to lift the aeroplane's seizure is scheduled for June 8. 

Russian commercial plane lacked proper permission to take off: Sri Lanka

Earlier on Friday, June 3, Sri Lanka's Airport and Aviation Services issued a statement saying that the flight to Moscow, which was supposed to depart on June 2, was cancelled due to the lack of permission from the country's aviation authorities. In retaliation to this, Russia's Aeroflot airline suspended its commercial aeroplane to Colombo which was scheduled for June 3. "Aeroflot is suspending commercial flights to Colombo for the immediate period due to an unreliable situation in terms of the airline's unobstructed flights to Sri Lanka. The sales of tickets for flights to Colombo have been temporarily shut down,"  the Russian Airline said in a statement. 

Image: AP