COLOMBO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Thursday visited the Russian embassy in Colombo to offer his condolences over the tragic fire in a Russian leisure center in Kemerovo, which killed 64 people.

Sirisena wrote a special note of condolence to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in the condolence book set up at the embassy.

In his note to the Russian president, Sirisena said the Sri Lankan people shared the sorrow of the Russian people and extended condolences on behalf of his government and the citizens of Sri Lanka.

Sirisena also engaged in discussions with Russia's Ambassador to Sri Lanka Yuri Materiy.

A total of 64 people perished in the fire that ravaged through a busy shopping mall in an industrial city in Siberia on Sunday. Many of the victims were children, Russian media reported.?