India, France discuss ways to tackle terror

French President Francois Hollande will travel to Washington and Moscow next week to seek support of President Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin on a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that France has moved, demanding stronger international action against the Islamic State (IS) that claimed the responsibility of the Paris attack.

“A resolution is discussed in the UNSC for fighting IS more strongly. President Hollande will be in Washington on Tuesday (Nov 24) and Moscow (Nov 26),” French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said here on Friday.

The visiting French minister met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who strongly condemned the terror attacks in Paris. Modi also reiterated the importance that India attached to strategic partnership with France.

Though Fabius travelled to New Delhi to lay the grounds for Modi’s visit to the UN climate summit in Paris later this month, counter-terrorism cooperation was one of the key topics of discussion between the leaders in the backdrop of Europe’s most severe terror strike in Paris, which was followed by another terror attack in Mali in West Africa.

Fabis discussed terrorism-related issues with Modi as well as his counterpart Sushma Swaraj. On the sidelines of the climate summit on November 30, Modi and Hollande may have a bilateral meeting, focusing on counter-terrorism cooperation.

In the wake of the attacks in Paris, India has already raised its pitch seeking early adoption of the long-pending Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism by the United Nations. New Delhi is of the view that the Paris attacks should be a wake-up call for the US and other western nations to drop their selective approach in combating terrorism and seek more effective international cooperation in the fight.
“France is grateful for the tremendous support it received from India, who knows what terrorism is,” said Fabius.

India-France Joint Working Group on counter-terrorism last met in June 2014. Both sides now prepare for the next meeting.

Asked if terrorists can be equated with freedom fighters, as claimed by some nations, the French foreign minister retorted: “Those people who say they are fighting for freedom peddle lies as they are murderers. They want to kill everybody.”

“It’s not possible to negotiate with them. We have to fight them. Prime Minister Modi and we are on the same page,” he said.