No arms deal with China says Sri Lankan Foreign Minister

October 8th, 2009 MOSCOW - Russia believes that a new strategic arms reduction deal with the US should be signed before cuts in tactical nuclear weapons are discussed, the foreign ministry said Thursday. "As to tactical nuclear weapons, we share the view expressed by (US Assistant Secretary of Defence for International Security Affairs) Alexander Vershbow that the discussion of this issue is premature," ministry spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.

September 21st, 2009 MOSCOW - For the first time, in talks on a new nuclear arms reduction deal, Moscow and Washington would be discussing concrete provisions for reaching an agreement to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START-1) due to expire Dec 5. The sixth round of talks on a new nuclear arms reduction deal between Russia and the US opens Monday in Geneva.

August 21st, 2009 ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has sought training in counter-insurgency operations from Sri Lanka following the island nation's decisive victory against the Tamil Tiger rebels, says a top commander. Apart from Pakistan, several other countries had also sought information about the strategy and tactics adopted by the Sri Lankan armed forces to decimate the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in just three years of intense fighting, Dawn Friday quoted Sri Lankan Army chief Lt.

August 19th, 2009 LONDON - A report prepared by the Commons Committee on Arms Export Controls has revealed that British weapons may have been used against Tamil civilians in Sri Lanka, and now, this is prompting calls for a review of the arms trade. According to The Times, the committee has argued that all existing licenses to Sri Lanka should be investigated.

August 7th, 2009 KATHMANDU - Nepal Defense Minister Bidhya Bhandari who returned to Kathmandu from New Delhi refuted any agreement with the Indian government regarding the import of arms. "There is no agreement on arms.

July 28th, 2009 COLOMBO - Bharti Airtel Lanka, a subsidiary of India's telecom major Bharti Airtel, Tuesday said it has crossed the one million customer-mark in Sri Lanka. The company has achieved this milestone within six months of the launch of its services in the island country.

July 25th, 2009 IMF approves $2.6 billion loan to Sri LankaCOLOMBO, Sri Lanka — The International Monetary Fund has given final approval for a $2.6 billion loan for Sri Lanka despite calls from human rights groups that the island nation should first address concerns over its human rights record. Some $322.2 million of the loan will be immediately available to Sri Lanka.

June 2nd, 2009 LONDON/COLOMBO - Britain approved commercial weapon sales of over 13.6 million pounds, including armoured vehicles, machinegun components and semi-automatic pistols to the Sri Lanka Army, official records show.ccording to The Times, Slovakia provided 10,000 rockets worth .1 million pounds, while Bulgaria approved sales of guns and ammunition worth 1.75 million pounds. Only Slovakia has confirmed delivery of rockets, but the approval of the sales raises the question of whether weapons from the EU were used in the last five months of Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war, during which UN officials estimate that 20,000 civilians were killed.

May 27th, 2009 GENEVA - The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted Wednesday a resolution which praised the government of Sri Lanka for its commitment to human rights, while condemning the Tamil Tiger rebels. The resolution, tabled by Sri Lanka itself and other nations, including China, Cuba and Egypt, also allows the government to let aid agencies' have access to camps for the internally displaced "as may be appropriate".

May 25th, 2009 COLOMBO - The spokesman of the Sri Lankan Army, Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara, on Monday said that Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in welfare camps are identifying several former Tigers hiding among them and handing them over to the Army. The Colombo Times quoted Brigadier Nanayakkara as saying that former Tigers have been taken in for questioning about the roles they played in the Tiger movement.

May 13th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Visiting British Foreign Secretary David Miliband and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have expressed their "profound concern" over the humanitarian crisis in Sri Lanka and called for a halt to the fighting in the northern part of that island nation. Around 50,000 people are trapped in a small area in the north east of the country They issued a joint statement after a meeting in Washington to draw attention to the plight of residents caught up in the fighting in the country's war zone, Sky News reports.

May 13th, 2009 BEIJING - China's investment in a Sri Lankan port is "normal commercial activity," the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, refuting a claim it was a military project. "Any distortion of facts would be invalid," the China Daily quoted ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu as saying at a news briefing.

May 2nd, 2009 LONDON - China is using the Sri Lankan crisis to expand its sphere of influence in the Indian Ocean region as part of its "string of pearls" strategy, and this is one of the main reasons behind failure of Western governments to negotiate a ceasefire to help Tamil civilians trapped on the front line, according to a leading UK based daily. The world, including India, has called for a cessation of hostilities to enable civilians to escape from the war zone, but China is still encouraging the Lankan offensive against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

April 21st, 2009 BEIJING - Russia and China signed an agreement on oil cooperation in Beijing Tuesday, under which a new branch from the East Siberia-Pacific Ocean (ESPO) pipeline will be built to China. The agreement sets out terms for oil cooperation between the countries, in particular on the laying of a pipeline from the Skovorodino refinery in Russia's Far East to Mohe county in China's Heilongjiang province.

April 21st, 2009 Wal-Mart denies Chinese management change haltedBEIJING — Wal-Mart Stores Inc. denied Tuesday a Chinese state media report that a plan to reassign Chinese managers has been halted due to objections from local unions.