COPENHAGEN, 3 April 2017 – Following an attack in St. Petersburg today that is being investigated by the Russian authorities as an act of terrorism, the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s President, Austrian parliamentarian Christine Muttonen, offered condolences and strongly condemned the violence.

“I was shocked and saddened to hear the news of the bomb blast in the St. Petersburg metro today, which has killed at least ten people and injured dozens, including many children. My sympathies are with the friends and families of the victims, the people of Russia, and with the injured, whom I wish a speedy recovery. I condemn this senseless act of violence in the strongest terms,” Muttonen said.

The President noted that she was in St. Petersburg just last week for an anti-terrorism conference, co-organized by the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly and the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States, which confirmed the prominent role that international parliamentary diplomacy and co-operation can play in the fight against terrorism.

“As I said last week in St. Petersburg at the Parliamentary Conference on Combating International Terrorism, effective counter-terrorism requires a multifaceted and co-ordinated response, one that combines prevention and detection with proactive steps to mitigate the terrorist threat. The OSCE PA stands ready to work with partners to ensure that this bloodshed comes to an end,” she said.