Stefan Vassilev, the UNDP resident representative in the Russian Federation, offered condolences on behalf of the UN and international humanitarian organizations at the session in the Russian Government Building devoted to humanitarian activities in the North Caucasus.
According to Vassilev, immediately after the news of the terrorist attack, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan announced that the world had once again become witness of deaths and wounds of dozens of innocent people. "There can be no justification for such horrible crimes," he said.
Russian Minister for Chechen Affairs Stanislav Ilyasov, who chaired the meeting, also offered his condolences to the families of the explosion's victims. "What happened is horrible. We have to do everything to prevent such awful crimes," he pointed out.
The meeting is to discuss creation of a single coordination body to streamline the activities of humanitarian organizations.
Its participants will also touch upon the issues of ensuring security of the organizations' representatives in Chechnya and of providing them with means of communication.
