Colombo, The wounded among Sri Lankan mercenaries in Russia are reluctant to return to the island nation because they hope to receive Russian citizenship, a minister said on Saturday.
Many Sri Lankan mercenaries left for Russia through agents and were forced to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine.
"Many Sri Lankan mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian front have become Russian citizens, making it difficult to give them diplomatic support," Economy Next quoted Foreign Minister Ali Sabry as saying.
"They have acquired Russian citizenship at this time," Sabry said on Friday.
"If you take citizenship of another country, you lose Sri Lankan citizenship, so if you are no longer a Sri Lankan citizen, we lose the right to represent you, that is the problem unless they apply for dual citizenship," Sabry said.
While some appeared to have been misled into believing they would be camp aides in support roles and thrust into combat, others may have known what was at stake, he said.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya, who has just returned from Russia after leading a high-level delegation to discuss the ex-servicemen human trafficking operation with Russian authorities, said: “We were provided with details of 464 from them. . Up to 17 have died. "We also discussed the issue of paying them compensation."
The Sri Lankan minister said that the two days of talks with the Russian authorities focused on the 17 Sri Lankans killed in combat, the payment of compensation for the dead and wounded, the plight of incommunicable Lankans, the possibility of voluntary returns, early termination of contracts and regularization of remuneration.
An initiative to prevent retired Sri Lankan military personnel from being illegally recruited and trafficked to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war was launched during the visit, according to a News First Lanka report.
Deputy Gamini Valeboda said talks had been held with high-ranking Russian officials, including the deputy defense minister and the deputy foreign minister, and that a joint committee consisting of representatives of the relevant ministries of both countries and the ambassador of Sri Lanka in Russia.
Valeboda also highlighted the seriousness of the situation and said that the smugglers were charging the families of these veterans more than Rs. 1 billion to facilitate its illegal deployment.
The government blamed foreign employment agencies for running a human trafficking business. Many retired military officers and staff of foreign employment agencies are detained for this business.
Many Sri Lankan mercenaries left for Russia through agents and were forced to fight in Russia's war against Ukraine.
"Many Sri Lankan mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian front have become Russian citizens, making it difficult to give them diplomatic support," Economy Next quoted Foreign Minister Ali Sabry as saying.
"They have acquired Russian citizenship at this time," Sabry said on Friday.
"If you take citizenship of another country, you lose Sri Lankan citizenship, so if you are no longer a Sri Lankan citizen, we lose the right to represent you, that is the problem unless they apply for dual citizenship," Sabry said.
While some appeared to have been misled into believing they would be camp aides in support roles and thrust into combat, others may have known what was at stake, he said.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya, who has just returned from Russia after leading a high-level delegation to discuss the ex-servicemen human trafficking operation with Russian authorities, said: “We were provided with details of 464 from them. . Up to 17 have died. "We also discussed the issue of paying them compensation."
The Sri Lankan minister said that the two days of talks with the Russian authorities focused on the 17 Sri Lankans killed in combat, the payment of compensation for the dead and wounded, the plight of incommunicable Lankans, the possibility of voluntary returns, early termination of contracts and regularization of remuneration.
An initiative to prevent retired Sri Lankan military personnel from being illegally recruited and trafficked to fight in the Russia-Ukraine war was launched during the visit, according to a News First Lanka report.
Deputy Gamini Valeboda said talks had been held with high-ranking Russian officials, including the deputy defense minister and the deputy foreign minister, and that a joint committee consisting of representatives of the relevant ministries of both countries and the ambassador of Sri Lanka in Russia.
Valeboda also highlighted the seriousness of the situation and said that the smugglers were charging the families of these veterans more than Rs. 1 billion to facilitate its illegal deployment.
The government blamed foreign employment agencies for running a human trafficking business. Many retired military officers and staff of foreign employment agencies are detained for this business.
