Sri Lanka is making a special appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin to remove a ban on Ceylon tea. Two ministers are leading a delegation to Moscow to request the suspension on Sri Lankan tea imports is lifted, reports claimed. President Sirisena told a rally on Sunday that he was optimistic that "as a friendly country", Russia would help Sri Lanka. Russia is one of the biggest importers of Sri Lankan tea, which accounts for nearly a quarter of its $436m (£326m) market. Sri Lanka has insisted that a thorough investigation will be carried out and that punitive measures will be taken against anyone found guilty of tampering with its consignment.

Source: Sunday Times December 19, 2017 02:15 UTC