MOSCOW, April 1 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Foreign Ministry said Saturday it had lodged strong protest with Argentina over a police attack on a Russian diplomat.

Ministry spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said a Russian diplomat was assailed and beaten up by Argentine police on March 5, but although the Russian side protested the attack at the time, it did not receive any formal apology nor had any measures been taken to punish those guilty of the attack.

He said Moscow saw the action by the Argentine authorities as "a gross violation of the generally recognized principles and norms of international law, as enshrined in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations."

The Russian diplomat, G. Todua, was driving a car with diplomatic number plates when he was stopped by police, ordered out of his car, hit in the face and stomach, and then handcuffed and pushed to the ground .

"His driving license was later returned to the Russian embassy with blood stains," the spokesman said.

"On March 29, 2006, the Russian Foreign Ministry received a note from Argentine Foreign Minister Jorge Taiana which did not contain any apology for the action by Argentine police," Kamynin said.

"It is disturbing that information about the incident, which was not made public at the request of the Argentine side, appeared in the Argentine media ahead of the upcoming visit to Argentina by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov," he said.