Russia ready to offer earthquake-hit China assistance

MOSCOW - Russia is ready to offer assistance to China in quake relief effort, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

Answering a question from Xinhua in his first nationwide phone- in event since returning to the Kremlin last May for a third term on Thursday, Putin again sent his condolences to Chinese quake victims and those injured in the devastating disaster.

Calling China a great nation, Putin said Russian rescuers were ready to fly to Sichuan province if China needs "extra help".

As for the disaster recovery program, Russia could invite children from the quake-hit region to visit Russia for recuperation as it did during the 2008 earthquake in Wenchuan, also in Sichuan province, Putin said, adding offering moral support is the first thing Russia could do for quake victims.

A 7.0-magnitude earthquake jolted Lushan County of China's Sichuan province Saturday, leaving 196 people dead and 11,470 others injured, according to the latest figures. Twenty-one people remain missing.