Former Soviet leader Gorbachev condemns Moscow Metro blasts

MOSCOW. March 30 (Interfax) - Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev has condemned the March 29 twin suicide bombings in the Moscow Metro and sent his condolences to the people who lost their relatives or friends in the blasts.

"It is absolutely obvious that those responsible for this inhuman act sought to spread panic and to intimidate people and the authorities. But I am convinced that they will not succeed," Gorbachev said in a statement.

"It would be a mistake to yield to this provocation and to display one's confusion even for one minute," the ex-Soviet leader said.

"On the contrary, all of us - both the authorities and society as a whole - need to demonstrate our firmness and to take even the most resolute measures in order to rule out any possibility of villainous sorties by terrorists," he said.

However, "we need to once again think about the roots of a phenomenon like terrorism and to try to nip this evil in the bud," he said.

The first explosion took place at the Lubyanka station in central Moscow at 7:57 a.m., and the second blast hit the Park Kultury station on the same metro line at 8:37 a.m.

The death toll from the explosions stands at 39.

More than 70 people injured in the bombings were hospitalized.

The Russian authorities declared March 30 a day of mourning for the victims of the explosions.

 

Interfax, 30.03.2010