Russia has pledged to continue to assist Sri Lanka for the restoration of peace and reconstruction in the country after the defeat of Tamil Tiger rebels, the Sri Lankan government said Tuesday, Xinhua reported.
The presidential office said in a statement that Russian President Dmitriy Medvedev told Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse on Tuesday in a telephone conversation that Russia considered Sri Lanka an old friend and ally, and looked forward to continuing the warm relations between the two countries.
He assured that Russia will give all assistance to Sri Lanka for the restoration of peace, reconstruction, and for necessary and expeditious relief to the large number of internally displaced persons, according to the statement.
Rajapakse thanked the Russian president for the considerable assistance given to Sri Lanka, especially in the UN Security Council and other UN organizations at the last stage of civil war.
The Sri Lankan president also conveyed his thanks to Russian Prime Minister Vladmir Putin, who had also been very helpful to Sri Lanka in the battle against the rebels, during his term as the president, said the statement.
In the telephone conversation that was initiated by Medvedev, it was agreed that Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will visit Sri Lanka in October this year, the statement added.
Sri Lanka's 30-year civil war came to a conclusion last week with the total defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
Claiming discrimination at the hands of the majority Sinhalese dominated governments, the LTTE began to fight for an independent Tamil homeland in the north and east since the 1980s, resulting in the killing of more than 100,000 people in Asia's longest civil war.
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