The below is attributable to Spokesperson Rebecca Chalif:
Today, Administrator Samantha Power spoke with Sri Lankan Ambassador to the United States, Mahinda Samarasinghe. The Administrator stressed the urgency of the international community standing together against Russia’s unprovoked and premeditated violence against Ukraine. Ambassador Power praised Sri Lanka’s decision to grant free visa extensions, as well as free meals and accomodation, to some 4,000 Ukrainian tourists and other Ukrainian visitors stranded in Sri Lanka because of the Russian invasion. They agreed that the show of global solidarity with the Ukrainian people had been overwhelming.