November 15, 2015
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Mihai Pelin, 15.11.2015, 12:00
Heads of state and government from G20 countries, who have convened in Antalya, Turkey, are preparing a joint statement in response to the suicide attacks in Paris. Fridays attacks in the capital of France are high on the agenda of the meeting under way in Antalya, a resort, which has been turned into a fortified camp. ‘Due to the attacks, the talks agenda is now very different, Turkish president Recep Erdogan said. Most of the participants have come from countries, which have been the victims of violent extremism. The absence of French president Francois Hollande, who remained at home to manage the crisis, is expected to put pressure on other leaders to agree upon many points of view. Syria, terrorism, the refugee crisis, environmental issues and a series of economic issues will be high on the agenda of the G20 summit in Antalya, due to last until Monday.
The French authorities have preemptively arrested several people from the entourage of the suicide attacker Omar Ismail Mostefai, identified as a mastermind of the Paris attacks on Friday night when 130 people were killed. More than 350 people have been wounded in the attacks, almost 100 of them being in critical condition. According to the Foreign Ministry in Bucharest, two Romanians are among the dead. Another two Romanians have been slightly wounded. Police in Belgium have also arrested three men in connection with the attacks in Paris. A Syrian passport has been found at a crime scene and has been identified as belonging to another suicide attacker, who entered France as a refugee in October. We recall that six attacks were carried out almost simultaneously in various places in Paris on Friday night. Scores were killed in a hostage taking in the famous Bataclan concert hall. Explosions were reported close to the Stade de France stadium in the north of Paris as well as in some districts in the east and the center where terrorists opened fire in crowded places. According to the prosecutors there were three teams of assailants and seven of them died in the attacks. The Paris attacks have been claimed by the Islamic State, which says they came in response to the insults against prophet Mohamed and to Frances air strikes in Syria and Iraq. Following the tragedy in Paris, an emergency state has been declared in France and border controls have been tightened.
A meeting of solidarity and unity is expected today in front of the French embassy in Bucharest for all the French and Romanians willing to express their feelings of support and unity. Numerous personalities of Romanias civil society as well as politicians have signed in a book of condolences that has been opened at the French embassy in Bucharest. French ambassador in Bucharest, Francois Saint-Paul has thanked the Romanian authorities for the support offered following the attacks in Paris and for the messages of solidarity. These attacks must be a signal for the entire international community, which has to show determination in combating terrorism and defending the values of mankind, Romanian president Klaus Iohannis said. In another development, the Romanian Foreign Ministry has activated a crisis center, while the Romanian Intelligence Service said the terrorist alert level in Romania remains unchanged.
Ten people lost their lives and over 30 were wounded on Saturday after a high-speed TGV train derailed close to the German border during a test on a new line linking Paris to Strasbourg. The authorities said that all on board were employees of the national railway company SNCF. According to the first investigations, the accident was caused by the high-speed of the train, which was running at 350 kilometers per hour.
