France condemns bus blast

PARIS, Saturday (AFP) - French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner sharply condemned the bus bombing in Colombo that claimed 26 lives, appealing in a statement today for a negotiated solution to Sri Lanka's problems.

Paris “condemns the attack with the utmost firmness,” the minister said in a statement.“France is particularly concerned at the continuing sequence of violence,” he said. “It appeals for a negotiated political solution to let Sri Lanka return to conditions of peace and development.”

Expressing its solidarity with the people of Sri Lanka, France offered its “sincerest condolences to the families of the victims and to the country's authorities,” the statement continued.