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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Rahmon,

Once again, I would like to thank you for accepting the invitation and coming to St Petersburg.

However, I would like to begin our bilateral meeting by expressing my sincere condolences to you and to the family of the boy from Tajikistan who tragically lost his life a few days ago. Perpetrating terrorist acts against children is an especially abhorrent crime. The investigation will be concluded without doubt, and the perpetrators, should there be several, will undoubtedly be brought to full justice. I repeat once again: I was shocked by this crime.

As I have already said, crimes of this kind are beyond comprehension, and when such terrorist acts are committed against children, it evokes particularly strong emotions.

Please convey my most sincere condolences to the family of the deceased boy.

President of Tajikistan Emomali Rahmon: Thank you very much, Mr Putin.

First of all, I wish to thank you for your invitation and a warm welcome.

Of course, this incident was entirely unexpected. Such criminals proliferate in the world today; we live in a very complex world. But what happened…

We are currently working to ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted by our law enforcement agencies. The guilty must be punished – I hope this will be under your personal supervision.

Vladimir Putin: That will certainly be the case. Our law enforcement agencies are collaborating very closely, and they share a high degree of trust. I have no doubt that the investigation will be comprehensive, and we will keep you apprised of developments, as well as your representatives from Tajikistan’s law enforcement agencies.

Emomali Rahmon: Thank you very much.

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