Sri Lanka’s president, who had announced he would resign Wednesday, has fled the country after months of turmoil culminated in protesters converging on the presidential palace.
The Ukraine war has pushed prices of food and oil higher. Inflation was near 40% and food prices were up nearly 60% in May.
So far, Sri Lanka has been muddling through, mainly supported by $4 billion in credit lines from neighboring India. An Indian delegation was in the capital Colombo on June 23 for talks on more assistance, but Wickremesinghe warned against expecting India to keep Sri Lanka afloat for long. Wickremesinghe told The Associated Press in a June 12 interview that he would consider buying more steeply discounted oil from Russia to help tide the country through its crisis.
Political corruption is also a problem; not only did it play a role in the country squandering its wealth, but it also complicates any financial rescue for Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka’s leaders agreed that lawmakers will elect a new president July 20 but struggled Tuesday to decide on the makeup of a new government.
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