Russian president offers help to China after quake

BEIJING, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that his country was ready to offer all necessary help to China following a powerful earthquake Saturday.

Putin spoke by phone with Chinese President Xi Jinping and offered his deep sympathy to the Chinese people on behalf of the Russian government and people.

"At this difficult moment, the Russian people stand firmly with the Chinese people. Russia is ready to give China all necessary help," Putin said.

The Russian president said he was confident the Chinese government and people would overcome the difficulties and recover from the disaster. "No matter what difficulty comes up, the Russian people are reliable friends of the Chinese people," he said.

Xi thanked Putin for his call, which came after a message of condolences on the day the magnitude-7.0 earthquake jolted Lushan in China's southwest Sichuan province.

The Chinese president said the timely assistance the two countries provided each other after major natural disasters demonstrated their high-level relations and the deep friendship between the two peoples.

China would stay in close contact with Russia on quake relief and post-quake reconstruction, Xi said.

After briefing Putin on the current situation in the quake-affected areas, Xi stressed disaster relief was moving ahead in a comprehensive and orderly manner.

"With one heart and one mind and concerted efforts from all sides, the Chinese people will surely overcome the disaster, rebuild their homes, and let the people in the affected areas live a good life," Xi said.

The powerful earthquake has left 192 people dead, 23 missing and over 11,000 injured. More than 1.5 million people have been affected by the disaster.

The two leaders also exchanged views on bilateral relations.

Citing last month's visit to Russia, Xi said China was ready to work with Russia to carry out the consensus and agreements reached by the two sides and deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination.

Putin said Xi's visit was a complete success and Russia would make all efforts to implement the outcomes of the visit and elevate bilateral ties to a new high.

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