ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka won’t involve itself in regional geopolitics, Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said amidst military clashes between India and Pakistan, with the island nation yet to issue a statement urging de-escalation between its neighbours.
“Our stance is we won’t involve ourselves in these geopolitical fights in the Indian Ocean region,” Jayatissa told reporters who questioned him on the country’s stance.
“We don’t approve and won’t support any form of terrorism, and we are ready to provide support for the prevention of terrorism,” Jayatissa, a member of a party that conducted two armed insurrections against elected Sri Lankan governments, said.
‘Supporting anti-terrorism measures’ would mean Sri Lanka was aligning with India, which claimed the killing of tourists in Pahalgam in Indian-occupied Kashmir last month was a Pakistan-sponsored terrorist attack, a claim Pakistan has denied.
The foreign ministry was keeping a close watch on the situation, Jayatissa said, and will issue statements on the government’s stance from time to time.
What mattered to the Sri Lankan government was regional security, the public’s security and peace in the region, he said, but when asked by reporters if Sri Lanka had taken any steps to discuss de-escalation, Jayatissa said “Not yet” [tha-va-ma ne-he].
“Some problems they should resolve themselves.”
“India and Pakistan help us from time-to-time, and are due to help us in the future,” Jayatissa said, “So we maintain good diplomatic relations with both of them.”
“We won’t allow our land, waters and air space to be used against either country.”
“We will protect our sovereignty, and follow a non-aligned approach.”(Colombo/May8/2025)
