Washington / Brussels, 26 July 2016 - “I strongly condemn the barbaric assassination of the priest of the parish of Saint-Etienne-du-Rouvray in Normandy earlier today”, Hon. Michael R. Turner (United States), President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, declared in a statement. “With this assault, the terrorists of Daesh seek to promote religious hatred, divide us and pitch our communities against one another.

In reality, Daesh has demonstrated time and again its callous disregard for the religion, age, gender, nationality or ethnicity of its victims. Its murderous attacks are assaults on our common humanity. This common humanity, our universal values, and our unity will continue to guide our response. Working together as an international community, we will stand firm in our fight against terrorism in all its manifestations.”

I would like once again to express the NATO Parliamentary Assembly’s solidarity with France and all nations which have lost innocent lives at the hands of terrorists.