Washington Post - 09.13.2001

 

Washington Post

Sympathy from Russia

WASHINGTON - I would like to share the overwhelming grief and compassion every Russian feels these days for the people of the United States in the aftermath of the barbaric act of aggression on the part of international terrorism.

We see moving evidence of that in the outpouring of popular sympathy by the hundreds who have come to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow with flowers and candles. President Vladimir Putin made a televised address expressing deep condolences to the families of the victims and our total support for the American people. This message was reinforced in his letter to George W. Bush and in the telephone conversations between our two presidents.

On Sept. 13 flags on the whole territory of the Russian Federation and in all our embassies abroad are to be flown at half-staff. By presidential decree a minute of silence is to be observed in mourning.

Russia knows all too well what terrorism means through our own painful experience. I remember that almost exactly to this date two years ago the peace and quiet of a residential area in Moscow was broken by the explosion of an apartment building -- one in a series of heinous acts of terror in the Russian cities that took hundreds of innocent lives.

Reality will never be the same now. We entered a new stage demanding thoroughly coordinated efforts to meet the terrorist challenge. Russia stands ready to join forces with the United States, other G-8 countries and the international community. The solidarity and indignation we all feel must be translated into practical deeds now. The urgency of Russia's specific proposals to create a united front against global terrorist threat has been once again tragically underscored.

We have offered to provide our resources, including special services assets, to identify the perpetrators of the terrorist assault on the United States.

YURI V. USHAKOV

Ambassador of the Russian Federation