Bangladesh has said it does not think that there will be any adverse impact on Bangladesh-Russia existing friendly relations over a single issue.
“Russia is Bangladesh’s tested and long term friend with its special role during Bangladesh’s War of Liberation. We are working jointly on many areas. Our understanding is so good that we don’t think a single issue will adversely impact the existing bilateral and friendly relations,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Seheli Sabrin on Thursday.
She said the issue related to barring a sanctioned ship into Bangladesh was a six-week old issue but the Bangladesh Ambassador was called to the Russian Foreign Ministry on 21 February, reports UNB.
Bangladesh is maintaining good relations with all the countries as it is a trade-dependent country, she claimed.
Earlier, Bangladesh sought a detailed report from its ambassador in Moscow to know what exactly was discussed with the Russian foreign ministry.
Bangladesh Ambassador to Russia Kamrul Ahsan was summoned to the Russian foreign ministry following Bangladesh's decision to ban Russian ships (sanctioned) from calling at Bangladeshi ports, reported Russia's state-owned news agency TASS on Tuesday.
Last week, the Russian Embassy in Dhaka told TASS that 69 Russian ships (sanctioned) had been barred from calling at Bangladeshi ports.
However, according to the embassy, this step did not mean that Bangladesh had banned imports of Russian goods.
Later, Russian foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said Bangladesh had made this decision under the threat of US secondary sanctions, according to a TASS report.
In January, Bangladesh told the Russian side that they could send any ship, except the sanctioned ones, carrying equipment for the Rooppur Nuclear Power Plant.
Bd-pratidin English/Golam Rosul
