MOSCOW, July 9 (RIA Novosti) - The Nigerian authorities are providing every assistance to Russian diplomats working for the release of two Russian sailors taken hostage last Sunday, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

The Sichem Peace, a chemical tanker, was attacked by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) some 18 miles from Escravos, Nigeria, taking six crewmembers, including two Russian and one Ukrainian, hostage.

"The Russian Embassy in Nigeria is implying all efforts to resolve the situation and free the hostages. Nigerian authorities are providing the necessary assistance to our [Russian] diplomats," Andrei Nesterenko said.

Besides two Russians and one Ukrainian, the attackers also abducted two Filipinos and an Indian. Thirteen other crewmembers were left on the ship, which they took to a safe distance offshore.

MEND, the main militant group in the Niger Delta, said in a statement the ship was attacked as it had ignored warnings to stay away.

The tanker, owned by Singapore's EMS Ship Management, was built in 2005.

Abductions of foreigners are not uncommon in the West African state, particularly in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where locals complain that the impoverished region fails to benefit from its crude exports.

The groups behind the abductions often demand ransoms in addition to political declarations, and also carry out acts of sabotage on foreign facilities operating in the region.