UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is following the situation in Sri Lanka very closely and has urged all party leaders to "embrace the spirit of compromise" for a peaceful and democratic transition.

The comments by Guterres came as embattled Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Wednesday fled to the Maldives on a military jet, hours before he was supposed to step down in the face of a public revolt against him and his family for mishandling the economy that has bankrupted the country.