Condolences for quake victims from leaders worldwide

Leaders worldwide have expressed their condolences for the victims in the earthquake and voiced their support for the country's disaster relief effort:

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he felt sorry after hearing of the damage by the major quake and added that the UN is ready to assist China.

The White House on Sunday offered condolences over the loss of lives in Yunnan province, where a magnitude-6.5 earthquake struck earlier in the day, saying the United States was ready to help. "The United States offers sincere condolences to all those who lost loved ones in the Aug 3 earthquake in southwestern China," National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said in a statement. She said US disaster response officials were in contact with their Chinese counterparts and the US "stands ready to assist".

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed his condolences to President Xi Jinping in the wake of a deadly earthquake in southwestern China, the Kremlin said on Monday. Putin "expressed his words of sympathy and support to friends and relatives of those killed and wished soonest recovery to all injured", the Kremlin press service said in a statement. He also expressed readiness to provide disaster relief assistance "if the need arises", added the Kremlin statement.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered condolences to Xi and Premier Li Keqiang on Monday. Abe expressed "heartfelt sympathy and condolences" to the government and people of China, and said that Japan is ready to extend support to help China cope with the aftermath of the quake, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye expressed deep grief over the significant casualties and properties losses caused by the earthquake in a message sent to her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping on Sunday, wishing China will win the disaster-relief battle soon.

---Xinhua-China Daily