Maria Al-Habib, the New York Times journalist who wrote the story on the controversial Chinese deals in Sri Lanka under the previous government said former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's camp did not respond to 'multiple requests for comment.' 

The reporter said former Central Bank Governor Ajith Nivard Cabraal, in his interview with New York Times said, he could not speak about the port’s financing, only the Finance Ministry can.

"And we all know who was Finance Minister (& Defense Minister & President) at the time. We offered multiple opportunities to them to comment, they wouldn’t," she tweeted.

She also said, "They allowed our photographer access to Rajapaksa but refused multiple requests for comment made via email, phone, WhatsApp. They didn’t seem to want to provide their side of the story, which we REALLY wanted to include. We tried for 2 months & still wait for their response today.

The last tweet in this thread: we still await their response & are happy to have it. But pointing to vague inaccuracies & releasing an audio of an interview where you say you can’t speak to how the port deal happened or its financing — which is THE story — isn't a response."