On August 13, 2019 Ambassador H.E. Doctor Dayan Jayatilleka paid a courtesy call on Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Maria Zakharova is also a spokeswoman for the MFA officially representing Russia. She is a PhD holder in Historical Sciences, who previously headed the Press Service of Russia's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York City.

During the meeting Ambassador Jayatilleka and Maria Zakharova had a wide-ranging discussion on a number of topics of current concern in international relations and shared their views on pressing issues in the global information arena.