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since the first plane to Moscow leaves Washington in four and a half hours’ time, she will immediately go to the scene of the events and contact the hostage-takers. Unfortunately, representatives of the US Embassy are asking us to wait until 9:00 a.m. local time (it is currently 5:00 a.m. in Washington, DC) to seek official assistance. It seems to us that we are asking for a very small favor of getting someone on the first flight from Washington to Moscow. Lives – including those of American citizens among the hostages – depend on this favor. Anna Politkovskaya is the only person in whom the hostage-takers have expressed confidence and whom they have requested as a mediator in the negotiations.

We urge the Americans to help Anna Politkovskaya return to Moscow as soon as possible.

1:30 p.m.

As of now the issue of facilitating an emergency flight from Washington, DC to Moscow for Novaya gazeta’s columnist, Anna Politkovskaya, remains unresolved. The hostage-takers in Moscow have expressed a wish to negotiate with her.

As Anna is presently in America, we appealed to the US Embassy for help and received a reply from Mr Paul Carter of the Embassy’s Legal Department. He said they were prepared to assist, but required confirmation from the Russian Foreign Ministry that this was a government initiative, and that the state was prepared to negotiate rather than to resolve the problem by force.

We rang the North American Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, who confirmed that Paul Carter had phoned them but said that, “since this matter was not within their jurisdiction,” they could not take any decision and would not involve themselves in facilitating Anna Politkovskaya’s urgent return to Russia. They advised us to phone the operational information section of the Foreign Ministry, whose Director, Vladimir Oshurkov, said he had “no information for the mass media.” We asked whether they would in fact ask the Americans to help, to which Mr Oshurkov replied, “What has the Ministry of Foreign Affairs got to do with this anyway? Why should the Ministry bother itself with getting Anna Politkovskaya to Russia? That’s what the security ministries have staff for. If they consider it necessary for Anna Politkovskaya to return to negotiate with the terrorists, she will fly. It is nothing to do with the Foreign Ministry.”

In order to re-register her ticket, Anna Politkovskaya requires more than 1,000 US dollars. If our Foreign Ministry (which represents the Russian Government) does not wish to address the problem, jeopardising negotiations with the hostage-takers and thereby putting at risk the lives of the hostages, we shall find the money ourselves.

2:30 p.m.

The latest information is that Anna Politkovskaya is returning to Russia on the first available flight.

NORD-OST: THE PRICE OF TALKS

October 28, 2002

My personal involvement in this crisis began at about 2:00 p.m. on October 25. At 11:30 a.m. I had spoken on my mobile phone to the hostage-takers for the first time and they agreed to a meeting. At 1:30 p.m. I arrived at the headquarters of the security operation. Another half-hour was spent getting everything co-ordinated: some unknown person was resolving matters behind doors which kept slamming.

Finally, I was led up to a protective cordon of trucks, someone said, “Give it a go. Perhaps you can do it,” and Dr Leonid Roshal [Head of the Disaster Medical Center] and I made our way to the entrance. It was very frightening.

We went into the building. We shouted, “Hello! Anybody there?”

There was no response. It felt as if the building was completely deserted.

I shouted, “It’s me, Politkovskaya! It’s Politkovskaya!” I slowly started climbing up the right-hand staircase. The doctor said he knew the way. In the first-floor foyer there was again silence, darkness, and it was cold. Not a soul. I shouted again, “It’s Politkovskaya!” Finally, a man appeared from behind what had been the counter of the bar.

His black mask wasn’t on properly and I could see his features clearly. He was not aggressive towards me, but hostile