A ‘top official’ in Sri Lanka’s External Affairs ministry is quoted as saying the Clinton- Jayalalithaa meeting Wednesday had not been as consequential as Colombo had feared.
“It is not as bad as we expected,” the official told the Daily Mirror.
He said the ministry had been alert to any ‘negative fallout’ from the meeting in Chennai, and had expected a stronger statement than Ms. Clinton had made.
He added the absence of a powerful outcome was testament to US’s lack of dominance in the region.
Ms. Clinton’s “lukewarm remarks” on Sri Lanka underlined that even as the US was “pushing India to take on a greater leadership role in the region,” it was aware of “the close links between India and Sri Lanka.”
