COLOMBO/MALE: The Maldives' Foreign Ministry on Wednesday refused to comment on embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa's arrival in the country along with his wife and two security officers on board a military aircraft that took off from Colombo's main international airport.
Rajapaksa, 73, flew out of the country hours before he was due to officially resign on Wednesday after months of protests against his government's economic mismanagement that has led to severe shortages of food, fuel and other essentials.
Maldives Foreign Ministry Communications Director Miuwan Mohamed refused to comment on Rajapaksa's arrival in the country.
"The Foreign Ministry will not comment on this issue [regarding Sri Lankan President Gotabhaya Rajapaksa's arrival in the Maldives] at this time," Mohamed said.
Communications Director at the Parliament Secretariat, Hassan Ziyau, said Parliament was not aware of the matter.
"The parliament office has not been informed," he said in a message sent to the Parliament's WhatsApp group, Maldives online newspaper Avas reported.
Earlier, a statement issued by the Sri Lankan Air Force (SLAF) said that the President was provided a SLAF aircraft to fly from Katunayake international airport in Colombo to the Maldives with "complete approval" from the Ministry of Defence.
The Prime Minister's Office also confirmed that the President had left the country. Rajapaksa informed the Speaker of Parliament on Saturday that he will resign on July 13. He signed on Monday his resignation letter, dated July 13, and it was later handed over to a senior government official.
Sri Lankan Parliament will elect the new president to succeed Rajapaksa on July 20, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena announced on Monday. The Parliament will elect a new president within 30 days from one of its members, who will hold the office for the remaining two years of the current term.
Sri Lanka, a country of 22 million people, is grappling with an unprecedented economic turmoil, the worst in seven decades, leaving millions struggling to buy food, medicine, fuel and other essentials.
Schools have been suspended and fuel has been limited to essential services. Patients are unable to travel to hospitals due to the fuel shortage and food prices are soaring.
Trains have reduced in frequency, forcing travelers to squeeze into compartments and even sit precariously on top of them as they commute to work.
In several major cities, including Colombo, hundreds are forced to stand in line for hours to buy fuel, sometimes clashing with police and the military as they wait.
The country, with an acute foreign currency crisis that resulted in foreign debt default, had announced in April that it is suspending nearly USD 7 billion foreign debt repayment due for this year out of about USD 25 billion due through 2026.
Sri Lanka's total foreign debt stands at USD 51 billion.