July 01, Colombo: The United States has no plan or intention to establish a US base in Sri Lanka, the U.S. envoy in Colombo has said dismissing news reports.

US Ambassador to Sri Lanka Alaina B. Teplitz in a Twitter post dismissed recent reports published in local media on the draft of the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) as "blatant misinformation".

"VFA (Visiting Forces Agreement) negotiations only aim to facilitate cooperation and any agreement will fully respect the sovereignty of Sri Lanka," Teplitz said.

The media report said that a draft copy of the 'Status of Forces Agreement' indicates a "deep rooted" plan by the U.S. to turn Sri Lanka into an American military colony.

Blatant misinformation. There is no plan or intention to establish a US base in Sri Lanka. VFA negotiations only aim to facilitate cooperation and any agreement will fully respect the sovereignty of #SriLanka. https://t.co/8icQt7t5ym

— Ambassador Teplitz (@USAmbSLM) July 1, 2019