Brussels, 12 December 2002. Mr. G.G. has furnished a reconstruction of the murder of the Italian national Antonio Russo, a reporter working for the Italian radio station Radio Radicale, which took place (probably, though not certainly) on 16 October 2000 in Tbilisi, Georgia. In a written statement Mr. G.G. describes the events as follows: "… The ambush was organised and carried out by members of the FSB, all of them from the Caucasian Republics, both the Republics belonging to the CIS and the Autonomous Republics, with the help of several members of well-known Mafia-type families of Chechen, Georgian, Azerbaijan and Armenian origin, who executed the murder plan on the instigation of members of the Russian Secret Service. The Russian citizen Sergijejevic' Petov was a party to this decision. Sergijejevic' Petov not only enjoys the confidence of Dr. Arlacchi, but has been able thanks to his protection to establish a series of channels to develop a flourishing business recycling money coming from illegal activities conducted mainly in the CIS, paid into Austrian and Hungarian banks, as well as those of Croatia and of Greece …". This statement will soon be passed on to the Georgian and Italian magistrates who are investigating the murder of Antonio Russo. Moreover, in its reply to question P-2110/01, the Council states that "the representatives of the Member States of the EU in Tbilisi, as well as the delegation of the Commission in situ, are constantly following the events" relative to the death of Antonio Russo.

Question from Olivier Dupuis, Secretary of the Transnational Radical Party and Member of the European Parliament, to the Council:

“What steps does the Council intend to take to verify the reliability of the reconstruction of the murder of Antonio Russo furnished by Mr. G.G.? What information does the Council have on the inquiry into the case? What initiatives has the Council taken after its reply of 21 October 2001, and what new initiatives does it intend to take, also in collaboration with the Georgian, French and Italian authorities, to finally shed light on the murder of Antonio Russo?”