Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

We are all relieved that the hostage crisis in Moscow is over and deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives. We send our condolences to the families of the hostages who were killed in this tragedy, and to the Russian people. We send our hopes for a speedy recovery to those who were injured during the crisis and still in the hospital.

We wish to underscore that this tragedy was caused by an act of terrorism. All member states of the OSCE condemn terrorist attacks wherever they occur. No political grievance justifies the taking of hostages and the killing of innocent people.

The Russian government was faced with a difficult dilemma as a result of this cruel terrorist act. There was no easy way out of a situation in which armed terrorists were threatening the lives of so many people. We respect the difficulty the Russian government faced.

Thank you.