U.S. says Sri Lanka refuses visa for official after war crime accusations

Nisha Desai Biswal, U.S. assistant secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs, holds her speech in a file before the start of a news conference in Colombo February 1, 2014. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka has refused a visa request for a U.S. State Department official, the U.S. Embassy said on Tuesday, after Washington signalled it would propose a U.N. resolution against the South Asian state over alleged war crimes.

However, Sri Lanka's External Affairs Ministry said the embassy's statement "was not a correct representation of the facts", adding the dates for the proposed trip had not been convenient.