The political crisis in Sri Lanka took a new turn last night when Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe informed President Maithripala Sirisea that he would only leave the position if the opposition managed to defeat him in a no-confidence motion.

The message had been conveyed at a meeting held at the President's in the presence of Speaker Karu Jayasuriya and UNP General Secretary Kabir Hashim. 

Wickremesinghe had also said he commanded the full support of the UNP -  the party holding the highest number of seats in Parliament. 

This claim has been endorsed by the party General Secretary. Without a successful no-confidence motion, the Prime Minister said, he had no reason to step down from his position. 

This statement clearly indicated that Prime Minister Wickremesinghe would not voluntarily step down from his position in the government, as demanded  by Sirisena a few times.