Russia pledges assistance to China after deadly earthquake

MOSCOW, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday extended profound condolences to Chinese President Hu Jintao over victims of the devastating earthquake hitting northwest China's Qinghai Province while pledging assistance in dealing with the aftermath.

"This natural disaster has taken hundreds of lives and caused serious destruction. We are with you in this time of trials," Medvedev said in a letter.

Medvedev asked Hu "to convey sincere words of sympathy and compassion to the relatives and friends of the dead and to wish an swift recovery to those injured," the Kremlin said.

"If required, we could provide assistance to the fraternal Chinese people in dealing with the aftermath of this natural disaster," the Russian leader said.

A 7.1-magnitude earthquake early Wednesday rocked the Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture of Yushu, in Qinghai province, killing at least 400 people and injuring 10,000 others.

The Chinese Ministry of Finance has announced an allocation of 200 million yuan (29.3 million U.S. dollars) to the quake-hit region.