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Sri Lanka refused U.S. request to land warplanes: Dissanayake

On March 20, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake told Parliament that Sri Lanka refused permission for two US warplanes to land at Mattala International Airport earlier this month.
The government said the request from the US on February 26 was rejected because Colombo aimed to maintain neutrality and avoid use of its territory for military purposes, Dissanayake said.
The US request described moving planes from Djibouti and officials detailed the aircraft carried eight anti-ship missiles each, seeking landings from March 4 to 8, which Sri Lanka declined.
Sri Lanka responded by rescuing 32 survivors and recovering 84 bodies from IRIS Dena, while IRIS Bushehr's 219 sailors sheltered in Colombo and 204 housed at Trincomalee naval facility.
Following high-level talks with US envoy Sergio Gor, Dissanayake said Sri Lanka demonstrated neutrality by abstaining on a UN Security Council resolution and met with the envoy amid ongoing talks.

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Sri Lanka says it denied US request to land two aircraft at Mattala airport

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