There was an allegation by Rajapaksas that America conspired to defeat Mahinda in the 2015 presidential election. Regardless of whether it is true or not, Sri Lankan relations with America developed rapidly after Maithripala became president.
During Maithripala’s first visit to the United Nations General Assembly as president, then US President Obama received Maithri warmly at the UN General Assembly. US President Obama had also reserved a seat for Maithri at the round table discussion with Russian President Putin and other major heads of state.
But Maithri was not satisfied with Obama’s response. He has been a fan of the Soviet Union since he started politics. The heroes of leftist SLFP politicians are the leaders of the Soviet Union. Putin in Russia was also a hero of leftist SLFP politicians. Maithri’s hero was not Obama but Putin. It was a great victory for him to sit next to Putin.
During the meeting, Maithri told Putin that his favorite politician was Putin. Putin was also impressed by Maithri’s statement. Maithri also informed Putin that he was interested in visiting Russia. Putin returned to Russia after the UN General Assembly to find out about Maithri and the new government in Sri Lanka. Knowing that the US had intervened to defeat the Rajapaksa government, which was friendly to Russia, he immediately sent Maithri an official invitation to visit Russia.
Not only Maithri Mahinda too was very keen to go to Russia and meet Putin. Mahinda also visited Russia when he was President. This Russian loyalty of the SLFP comes from the time of the Bandaranaikes. The JVP maintained closer relations with Russia at the party level than the SLFP.
However, there are no reports that Anura Kumara made an attempt to go to Russia after becoming President. Recently, the Russian ambassador to Sri Lanka made a revelation about an invitation made to Anura by Putin. The following is what he said.
“Last October, I met with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and brought with me an invitation letter from the President of Russia, inviting Sri Lanka to participate in the BRICS summit. I spoke with a language interpreter, but I don’t know if the translation was accurate”
Anura has left for Germany after declining an invitation from Russian President Putin. The JVP official website says that Anura has set a record as the first Sri Lankan head of state to visit Germany. However, Sri Lankan heads of state have visited Germany before this. When Maithripala became President, he was extended an official invitation to Germany and was highly received there. Ranil as president visited Germany and met the chancellor.
Today while Anura is going to Germany, the pro-Western Ranil’s visit to Russia could lead to some interesting developments.
