COLOMBO: Sri Lanka may be compelled tobuy more oil from Russia as the nation faces shortages amid anunprecedented economic crisis, its prime minister told theAssociated Press.

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe, in an interview withthe news agency on Saturday, said he would first look to othersources, but would be open to buying more crude from Moscow.

The country is in the midst of its worst financial crisis inseven decades and severely strapped for dollars to pay forcritical imports including food, fuel and medicine.

Long lines, sometimes kilometers long, are a common sightnear petrol stations across the country, which has also been hitby rolling power cuts.

While Washington and its allies are trying to cut financialflows supporting Moscow’s war effort, Russia is offering itscrude at a steep discount, making it extremely enticing to anumber of countries.

Wickremesinghe, who is also Sri Lanka’s finance minister,also indicated he would be willing to accept more financial helpfrom China, despite the island nation’s mounting debts.

Sri Lanka’s current predicament was of “its own making”, hesaid, and the war in Ukraine was making it even worse addingthat dire food shortages could continue until 2024.

He said Russia had also offered wheat to Sri Lanka, the APreported.

Sri Lanka was also trying to get oil and coal from itstraditional suppliers in the Middle East.

Officials are negotiating with private suppliers, butWickremesinghe said one issue they face is that “there is a lotof oil going around which can be sourced back informally to Iranor to Russia.”Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, globaloil prices have skyrocketed.