BEIRUT, July 18 (RIA Novosti) - The first group of Russian evacuees, numbering 250, has safely arrived in Syria from Lebanon, Russia's embassy in Damascus said Tuesday.
About 200 people have been killed in Lebanon during six days of Israeli air strikes while more than 20 Israelis have been killed in attacks mounted by militant group Hizbollah.
Embassy spokesman Yevgeny Posukhov said the evacuees, mainly women and children, had spent about three hours on the Syrian border.
He also said Russian Emergency Situations Ministry planes would pick them up at 11.00 p.m. Moscow time (7.00 p.m. GMT) Wednesday.
Another 78 Russians are currently boarding a Greek warship in Beirut to be evacuated to Cyprus.
Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, said earlier on Tuesday that 1,230 citizens of Russia and other CIS countries would be evacuated from Lebanon within the next two days.
