Russia, China to Maintain Anti-Terrorism Cooperation after Crocus Tragedy: Lavrov

"I want to thank China for their condolences in connection with the terrorist attack in the Moscow Region on March 22, and for their support of Russia's fight against terrorism," Lavrov said speaking at a meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing, TASS reported.

"All those involved (in the terrorist attack) will be certainly punished," Russia’s top diplomat stated. "Our (Russia-China) cooperation on counter-terrorism will continue, including within the framework of multilateral institutions."

Speaking about the recent presidential election in Russia, Lavrov stressed that it was organized amid "severe external pressure from the West and a surge of terrorist attacks on behalf of (Ukraine)."

"As you may well know, there was a reported increase in bombardments of Russian cities, which led to casualties among civilians; there were also reported numerous attempts by hackers to hack our electoral system," Russia’s foreign minister continued.

"But the voting was successful, nothing interrupted the record-breaking free will of the Russian voters and the delegation from the Chinese government witnessed it on its own," Lavrov stated.

"We are very grateful to you for making a decision to send your observers (to the election)," Russia’s foreign minister added.

On the evening of March 22, a terrorist attack targeted the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, just outside the Moscow city limits. According to the latest data, 144 people were killed and 551 suffered injuries.

Eleven people, including four perpetrators, have been arrested in the case of the terrorist attack. The Russian Investigative Committee said that investigators had found evidence of the attackers’ connection to Ukrainian nationalists.

Voting in Russia’s presidential election took place on March 15-17, making it the country’s first three-day election. Remote e-voting was available in 29, or about one-third, of Russia’s regions.

According to the Central Election Commission (CEC), with 100% of all ballots counted, Putin garnered 87.28% of the vote. Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) nominee Nikolay Kharitonov came in second (4.31%), followed by New People party nominee Vladislav Davankov (3.85%) and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) nominee Leonid Slutsky (3.2%).