All students from quake-stricken Haiti in Russia will receive state funding to continue their studies, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Monday.

"We have decided that all those who are studying on a paid basis will study at the expense of the Russian federal budget," Putin was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying during a visit to a university in the central Russian city of Cheboksary.

Putin said 75 students from the Caribbean nation are currently studying at Russian universities.

He also expressed his condolences over the disaster. "Certainly, we will try to help you like we did in the first days after the tragedy, by sending our rescuers and medical staff there."

A devastating earthquake jolted Haiti on January 12, causing huge loss of life and extensive damage to infrastructure.

(Xinhua News Agency January 26, 2010)