— As soon as the investigation is over, he won’t be kept here, underlined Victor Chernomyrdin.

— The Russian side did not object in principle against Nikitin’s emmigration to Canada. However, they declined to determine the date, stated Jean Chretien.

Aleksandr Nikitin was one of the co-authors of the report compiled by the Bellona Foundation on the nuclear and radioactive waste problems in the Russian Northern Fleet. Nikitin was arrested by Russian secret police in February 1996, and charged with high treason and devulging of state secrets because of his co-authorship. He was released from custody in December 1996, but has been held in city arrest in St. Petersburg since then. The charges against Nikitin remain in force.