PM says he didn’t ‘duck’ meeting with Pompeo

by NORMAN PALIHAWADANA

There was intense speculation that Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa avoided meeting with visiting US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Social media posts suggested that the premier deliberately ‘ducked’ meeting the US dignitary.

When The Sunday Island asked Prime Minister Rajapaksa whether he dodged a meeting with the top US official, he replied: “We felt that it was sufficient for the President and the Foreign Relations Minister to meet with Pompeo.

There was no need for the Prime Minister also to meet him”.

“Some people are trying to make an issue out of this. I was not scheduled to meet him in any case as Pompeo called on the President and the Foreign Relations Minister, which was quite adequate”, he further said.

The premier also said that with the relaxing of the curfew, people should ensure strict adherence to health safety guidelines. Otherwise, we will be back to where we began.

He said that with the lifting of the curfew, places of religious worship will also be allowed to reopen under strict corona preventive measures.