OSCE Chairman-in-Office strongly condemns hostage-taking in Moscow
The OSCE Chairman-in-Office, Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz. (Ayhan Evrensel/OSCE) Photo details
LISBON, 24 October 2002 - The OSCE Chairman-in-Office (CiO), Portuguese Foreign Minister Antonio Martins da Cruz, has strongly condemned the taking of hundreds of Russian and foreign citizens as hostages by a group of gunmen in a Moscow theatre yesterday.
"We denounce this terrorist act and its brutal nature", the CiO said in a statement this morning. "No political motivation can justify the use of force against innocent civilians. Extremism and fanaticism can only contribute to worsen the prospects for a political settlement of conflicts and tensions".
"We encourage the Russian authorities, who deserve all our support in this very difficult moment, to try and find the best possible solution to bring this serious crisis to an end, avoiding loss of innocent life", Foreign Minister da Cruz added.
"We denounce this terrorist act and its brutal nature", the CiO said in a statement this morning. "No political motivation can justify the use of force against innocent civilians. Extremism and fanaticism can only contribute to worsen the prospects for a political settlement of conflicts and tensions".
"We encourage the Russian authorities, who deserve all our support in this very difficult moment, to try and find the best possible solution to bring this serious crisis to an end, avoiding loss of innocent life", Foreign Minister da Cruz added.