Western Sanctions to Bring Third World ‘to Its Knees’, Not Russia: Sri Lankan PM – Al-Manar TV Lebanon

Sri Lanka’s acting president, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Monday that Western sanctions introduced against Russia won’t bring it down to its knees, while third world countries will suffer.

“Do you think sanctions will help? It will only drag the prices up. […] Let us look at the sanctions that are being imposed and ask ourselves if this is necessary. The sanctions won’t bring Russia to its knees, but it will bring the rest of the third world to its knees,” he said at an international panel discussion on preventing hunger and famine as quoted by India’s Doordarshan TV channel.

According to the official, the sanctions affect such countries as Sri Lanka where food products are not generally accessible.

“Our issue in Sri Lanka is partly self-made and partly due to the global crisis,” he said, adding that “a global crisis and an internal crisis both have come together and brought us to a level where many estimate that as much as 6 million people are facing malnutrition.”

Overall, Wickremesinghe thinks that the Western anti-Russian sanctions and the events in Ukraine caused the global food and fuel crises.