By IANS,
New Delhi : Condemning “blind, cowardly and inhuman attacks” on Bangalore and Ahmedabad, French President Nicolas Sarkozy Tuesday wrote a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and offered to further strengthen cooperation in the battle against terrorism.
“As the holder of the presidency of the European Union, I considered it important for Europe to condemn firmly these blind, cowardly and inhuman attacks,” Sarkozy writes.
“On this occasion, I wish to assure you of the full solidarity of the 27 member-states of the EU and their determination to fight alongside the Indian government to eradicate the scourge of terrorism,” said the letter by the French president, which was made available here by the French embassy.
France currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU.
The handwritten letter is emotive in tone and conveys Sarkozy’s “deep grief” at terror attacks in India and expresses “deepest condolences and sympathy to you, as well as to the Indian people and particularly the families of the victims”.
This is probably the first letter written by a foreign head of state/government to condemn recent serial terror attacks Friday and Saturday in two of India’s economically most vibrant cities, where at least 50 people were killed and hundreds injured.
India and France will discuss the reinforcement of cooperation in combating terrorism when the two sides hold strategic dialogue in Paris Aug 11.
“Should you so desire, we could raise the substance of this issue together during the upcoming EU-India Summit and the Indo-French Summit which we will hold in Marseille, then Paris, in September,” writes Sarkozy.