Chinese President Hu Jintao sent a message of condolences on Saturday to Russian President Vladimir Putin to express his regret at the Moscow metro bombing, which killed 39 people and wounded more than 130 others.

Also on behalf of the Chinese government and people, Hu expressed deep sympathy to Putin and through him, to the families of the dead and those wounded in the terrorist suicide bombing during the morning rush hour on Friday.

The Chinese president reiterated China's opposition to all forms of terrorism which, he said, is a serious threat to global peace and security and reaffirmed support for Russia's fight against terrorism.

China is ready to join international community efforts to eliminate the evil, he said.

Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing also sent a message of condolence over the Moscow metro bombing to his Russian counterpart Igor Ivanov.

(Xinhua News Agency February 8, 2004)