23 April 2019 01:02 pm
In a message to Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin reassured that Russia was Sri Lanka’s partner in combatting terrorism and said he expected “masterminds and perpetrators of such a heinous and cynical crime get the punishment they deserve.”
“Dear Mr. President, please accept our most sincere condolences for the tragic consequences of the series of terrorist acts in the cities of your country. I would like to reassert that Russia has been and remains a reliable partner of Sri Lanka in combatting the threat of international terrorism. I expect the masterminds and perpetrators of such a heinous and cynical crime committed in the midst of Easter celebrations will get the punishment they deserve. Our country shares the grief of the victims’ families and friends and hope for a prompt recovery of those injured,” he said.
The tragedy claimed over 290 lives and left some 500 people injured. A series of explosions in Sri Lanka took place on Easter Sunday, with the first six in three temples in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa and three hotels, the seventh in the west of the island and the eighth in a residential complex on the outskirts of Colombo. Another bomb was defused near the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA).