The circumstances of a recent Israeli attack on a Gaza-bound humanitarian aid convoy must be thoroughly investigated, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday.
Israeli commandos stormed on May 31 the six-ship fleet in international waters off the coast of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip as it carried some 10,000 tons of aid and up to 700 human rights activists to the Palestinian enclave. Nine activists were killed and dozens were injured. Hundreds were jailed and then deported.
"Such actions against a civilian ship are unacceptable," Putin said at a news conference following talks with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
"These actions in the neutral waters raise special concerns and, undoubtedly, demand a thorough investigation," the Russian prime minister added.
An Israeli government investigation commission and the Israeli military are expected to conduct separate probes into the attack, but Israel refused to cooperate with any independent investigation involving foreign experts.
The Freedom Flotilla was trying to break the blockade of Gaza even though Israel had warned that it would not allow foreign ships to approach the coast.
Eight of the nine activists confirmed dead in the attack were Turkish citizens. Mass anti-Israeli protests took place in Istanbul and Ankara last week as the country paid its last respects to the victims.
Turkey condemned the act of aggression and recalled its ambassador from Israel. Turkish President Abdullah Gul said last Thursday that Turkey would never forgive Israel for the killing of Turkish citizens.
Israel and Egypt closed their border crossings with the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized control of the enclave in June 2007. The blockade has led to a drastic deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Many of the 1.5 million people living in Gaza lack sufficient supplies of clean water and other vital items.
Israel has refused so far to lift the blockade, saying it is "an act of self-defense in the face of Hamas' continuing aggression."
Putin said at the third summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) on Tuesday that Russia stood for the immediate lifting of the blockade and urged concrete steps to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
ISTANBUL, June 8 (RIA Novosti)
