(Provisional translation)

Message from Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi to
Minister for Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov of the Russian Federation
Concerning the Terrorist Bombing at a Russian Military Hospital in the Republic of North Ossetia

August 3, 2003

With regard to the occurrence of a terrorist bombing at a Russian military hospital in the Republic of North Ossetia in the Russian Federation on August 1, 2003, Minister for Foreign Affairs Yoriko Kawaguchi conveyed a message to Minister for Foreign Affairs Igor Ivanov of the Russian Federation on 2 August via the Embassy of Japan in Russia. The following is an outline of the message.

"I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the victims of the terrorist bombing at a Russian military hospital in the Republic of North Ossetia, and to their families.

It is particularly heartrending that the attack targeted a hospital, which is a humanitarian facility, and that this resulted in so many persons falling victim to the bombing. No such acts of terrorism can ever be tolerated, nor their reasons justified.

The fight against terrorism is the one that the international community must tackle together and I would like to continue to work with you on this matter in close cooperation."