The Italian foreign minister visits Russia: everything has been discussed, except Chechnya.

Rome, 5 September 2001.

Declaration of Nikolaj Khramov, coordinator of the Russian radicals and member of the political direction of the Transnational Radical Party:

"Integration of Russia in the WTO, commercial and economic problems, the issue of Macedonia: all this - according to the communications of the Farnesina [seat of the Italian foreign minister] and of the press releases - has been discussed during the visit of the Italian foreign minister Martino in Moscow. Only one theme was missing: the war in Chechnya, the war crimes and the Chechen refugees who live in inhuman conditions. While the chief of the Italian diplomacy was talking with his high ranked Russian partners, women and men in Chechnya continued to die. The most important problem not only of today's Russia but perhaps also that of Europe- in the geographical and human sense of this name. It seems that Chechnya does not exist: neither for the Italian government nor for the Europe of the sixteen governments; so one can not hear neither the screams of the tortured victims in the filtration camps, nor the protests of the dissidents and of the democratic Russians. This gives therefore more importance and meaning to the first 42 signatures of European deputies, 54 other personalities and 580 citizens from different countries on the international appeal of the Transnational Radical Party to the European commission and council, that requests the unilateral international recognition of the Chechen Republic".

From a press release of the Transnational Radical Party.