On November 25, 1999 Turkey sent the first part of the humanitarian aid provided by the Turkish Red Crescent to Vladikavkaz on board on a Turkish Air Force aircraft in order to help meet urgent needs of the innocent civilians who were affected seriously by ongoing clashes in Chechnya and were therefore forced to take refuge in nearby regions.

With the aim of ameliorating to a certain extent the difficult conditions of the innocent Chechen civilians which are steadily getting worse by severe winter, as they are forced to flee from their homes and find refuge in Georgia, necessary preparations for the transportation of the second part of humanitarian aid provided by the Turkish Government to Georgia via the Red Crescent have been finalized.

Three trucks loaded with assistance material for distribution to the refugees in coordination with the Georgian authorities, will therefore leave Ankara on December 25, 1999.

We hope that the humanitarian wounds caused by the clashes in Chechnya will not deepen. Similarly, we hope to see an end to the current approach of finding a military solution to the crisis, which will be followed by a declaration of a ceasefire and an immediate commencement of a search for a dialogue with a view to reaching a political solution.

We believe that the ongoing clashes will have adverse effects in the long term on regional peace, stability and security. We would like to underline the fact that in the present delicate circumstances it is of utmost importance that stability, security, territorial integrity and sovereignty of the regional countries be fully respected.