Sri Lanka evacuating 40 nationals in Ukraine, watching Belarus
COLOMBO – Around 40 Sri Lankan nationals living in Ukraine are being evacuated via the Ukraine-Polish border, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Tuesday (March 1), adding that the embassy in Moscow was also in close communication with the approximately 1,600 Sri Lankans, most of them students, living in neighbouring Belarus.
The East European country, which shares borders with Ukraine and Russia, was used by Moscow as staging post to invade Ukraine, and the US has said there is increasing evidence the country may be moving towards becoming an explicit participant in the war.
The foreign ministry, in a statement issued on Tuesday, said it was continuing to closely monitor developments in Ukraine, and that it was currently engaged in the evacuation of the 40 Sri Lanka nationals, including two students, via the Ukraine – Polish border. It said the process was being facilitated by the Sri Lanka Embassies in Warsaw and Ankara, the latter being concurrently accredited to Ukraine.
The ministry said it had strengthened the provision of resources to the embassy in Warsaw to ensure the effective facilitation of the evacuation process and that the ambassadors in Ankara and Warsaw were maintaining close contact with the Sri Lankans being evacuated, to ensure safe passage and return to Sri Lanka.
The ministry is also engaged in monitoring the status of Sri Lankan nationals in countries which share land borders with Ukraine, the statement said, explaining that Sri Lanka’s accredited missions are in contact with the relevant Honorary Consuls and Sri Lankan nationals in the respective countries.
The Sri Lanka Embassy in Moscow, which is concurrently accredited to Belarus continues to be in close communication with the approximately 1,600 Sri Lankan nationals, including 1,556 students studying in over eight universities / higher education institutes in Belarus, the foreign ministry said. It also added that Sri Lanka’s Ambassador in Moscow was in direct contact with university authorities, student and parent groups, as well as other concerned institutions in Belarus, with regard to the safety and welfare of the students and that regular status updates were being provided to the parents, as deemed necessary.
Meanwhile, the foreign ministry has urged Sri Lankan nationals in the region to be in close contact with the relevant missions.
-ENCL