France, US "Loyal Allies," Says French Defense MinisterFrench Defense Minister Alain Richard declared Wednesday that France and the United States are " loyal allies facing all blows" such as Tuesday's terror attacks on New York and Washington.However, it was too early to pronounce the eventual participation of France and Europe in retaliation action that the United States might take, said Richard at French television Europe 1. The retaliation will hit (authors of the terrorism) in a coherent and dissuasive way, he said. "We are not always in agreement with our American ally and friends, we might be in disagreement. But, what makes our relations powerful is that we are loyal allies facing all blows and this is a blow," said the French minister. The world entered "a new period" after these attacks since the criminal organization had deliberately chosen mass crimes as the means and demonstrated quite great efficiency, he said. One of the important questions was to know whether Tuesday's attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington were supported by one or several states, he added. France has received no threats up till now and the government and the army are taking rigorous security measures, he said. |
| People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/ |