Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Sri Lanka president, asks Russia's Vladimir Putin for help to buy fuel
The president said he "had a very productive" discussion with Mr Putin.
It comes after Sri Lanka's energy minister warned at the weekend that the country might soon run out of petrol.
On Wednesday, hundreds of people took to the streets of the capital Colombo to protest against the government.
"I requested an offer of credit support to import fuel," Mr Rajapaksa tweeted about his conversation with the Russian leader.
Mr Rajapaksa also said he had "humbly made a request" for flights between Moscow and Colombo to resume after the Russian flag carrier Aeroflot suspended services last month.
"We unanimously agreed that strengthening bilateral relations in sectors such as tourism, trade, and culture was paramount in reinforcing the friendship our two nations share," he added.
The country has already purchased oil from Russia in recent months to help bolster fuel supplies during the crisis, and the government has signalled that it is willing to buy more from the energy-rich country.
Attempts by Mr Rajapaksa to resolve Sri Lanka's worst economic crisis in more than 70 years, including securing financial support from India and China, have so far failed to end weeks of shortages of fuel, power, food and other essential items.
On Sunday, energy minister Kanchana Wijesekera said the country only had enough petrol left for less than a day under regular demand.
Last week, authorities suspended sales of petrol and diesel for non-essential vehicles in an attempt to preserve its dwindling fuel stocks.
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