SLOVAK President Ivan Gašparoviè condemned the three-day siege of a school in Beslan by Chechen gunmen, SITA news agency reports. In a telegram sent to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, he expressed sympathy for the victims of the terror.
"It is unbelievable how far anger, hatred, brutality, and religious fanaticism can go," the president wrote. Gašparoviè went on to say that the Beslan episode confirms that terrorism is global and without borders.
"We all share the pain and grief of the parents and relatives of the victims in Beslan," the letter states. Gašparoviè admitted that it would be necessary to consider a more efficient defence against such barbarism in the future.
Slovakia remains a firm part of the anti-terrorist coalition and is ready to collaborate with other nations to eliminate terrorism.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
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