It is not the right time for Gotabaya Rajapaksa to return to Sri Lanka as his presence here could inflame political tensions in the country which is grappling with the worst economic crisis in history, his successor Ranil Wickremesinghe has said.

Wickremesinghe was elected as the president through a parliamentary vote on July 20 after then-President Rajapaksa fled to the Maldives and then to Singapore when anti-government protesters stormed the President's House.