The United States has allowed Sri Lanka time to scale down its import of Iranian oil after Sri Lankan pleaded with US officials for concessions.
Petroleum Industries Minister, Susil Premajayantha said that Sri Lanka now had to cut down its import of oil from Iran by 15% for the current year, managing to evade a total ban that comes into force in June of this year.
“The concession to reduce crude oil imports only by 15 per cent was a result of the appeal made to the US earlier.”
Earlier, Sri Lankan newspapers reported that Sri Lanka newspapers reported thatthe country would be able to cease importing oil from Iran completely by March 29th, ahead of the US deadline. See here and here.
The granting of the concession comes as Sri Lanka appeared on a US State Department list of 12 countries that faced potential financial sanctions if they continued to import Iranian oil.
The US Embassy in Colombo did not comment on the latest concession, saying that they were in “active discussions” with the Sri Lankan government over the issue.
Meanwhile, the Ceylon Petroleum Company (CPC) has inked a deal with Oman and Vietnam in an attempt to find other sources of oil as they continue to face pressure to reduce the Iranian imports.
Sri Lanka currently relies heavily on Iranian oil, which makes up 93% of the country's imports.
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