The deaths of people during the Israeli military attack on humanitarian aid ships en-route to Gaza are irreversible and unmotivated, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday.
The Israeli military stormed the ships, carrying some 10,000 tons of aid to the Hamas-run Gaza Strip and 700 human rights activists in neutral waters in the Mediterranean Sea on Monday.
"It is necessary to perform an extremely thorough investigation," Medvedev said. "However, in any case, the deaths of people are irreversible and absolutely unmotivated," he continued.
Medvedev, who is currently in the Russian southern city of Rostov-on-Don where the Russia-EU summit is being held, said that the issue was discussed at the summit and the Russian and EU foreign ministers have made a joint statement.
"It [the statement] fully correlates with what has been done in the framework of the Security Council, with a resolution that was adopted today, condemning what happened," the Russian president said.
Russia and the European Union demanded on Tuesday a full and unbiased investigation into Israel's attack on a Gaza-bound convoy of humanitarian aid ships in neutral waters and called on Israel to immediately allow the free movement of humanitarian aid, commercial goods and people to and from the Palestinian enclave.
"Russia and the European Union demand a full and unbiased investigation of the events and circumstances," EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in a joint statement.
Nine activists are confirmed dead but Arab media reports put the toll at close to 20. Dozens were reported injured. The international community has widely condemned Israel, with Turkey recalling its ambassador.
Turkey on Tuesday sent three evac planes to Israel to bring back 20 of its injured citizens. Two planes were allocated by the Turkish General Staff and another by the Turkish Health Ministry.
ROSTOV-ON-DON, June 1 (RIA Novosti)
