Minister of Foreign Affairs Mangala Samaraweera met with Ukranian Ambassador Oleksandr Shevchenko, at the Foreign Ministry in Colombo, last evening.

Shevchenko is based in New Delhi and is accredited to Sri Lanka.

Interestingly, this meeting took place amidst the controversy on alleged illegal arms deals of former Sri Lankan Ambassador to Russia Udayanga Weeratunga. It was reported that Weeratunga had supplied arms to the rebel forces in Ukraine.

During their meeting, Samaraweera and Shevchenko discussed the possibility of Sri Lanka sending an investigation team to the Ukraine in early May to inquire into the allegations against Weeratunaga.

Shevchenko is a diplomat with more than 20 years of experience. Prior to his appointment as Ambassador to India, Oleksandr Shevchenko acted as the Deputy Director at Arms Control and Disarmament Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2009-2010). He was appointed as Ambassador to India in July 2010.