Chinese President Hu Jintao voiced his support to the Russian people and offered aid to the Russian regions ravaged by wildfires in a telegram to his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev on Monday.
"In this dangerous time, the Chinese people won't stand idly by. China is ready to allocate Russia emergency humanitarian aid and lend support to the Russian people in their fight against forest fires," the telegram said.
"I believe, that under your steady leadership the Russian government and people will tackle this unprecedented natural disaster and will recover the beauty of their motherland," the Chinese leader addressed Medvedev.
Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao, who is currently leading rescue operations in flood-damaged regions of China, voiced his support to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
The situation in Russia has received wide media coverage in China. Photographs of Muscovites wearing face masks and forests on fire found empathy among the people of China.
A scorching heat wave has gripped much of European Russia since mid-June, sparking wildfires and causing the worst drought in decades.
The fires have been burning for two weeks, with a total of 51 people reported killed. The hot weather is forecast to continue well into the week, and the southerly and easterly winds blowing smoke across the capital are not expected to shift for at least a couple of days.
Some 3,500 have been left homeless across the central part of European Russia.
The smog in the Russian capital has been far worse than usual for more than a couple of weeks as smoke from nearby peat bog and forest fires has mixed with exhaust fumes and other pollutants, bringing pollution to an all-time high of 6-7 times the norm over the past weekend.
Conditions eased a bit on Sunday.
The record-breaking heat wave in Moscow will continue through mid-August, meteorologists say.
BEIJING, August 9 (RIA Novosti)
