[French President Jacques Chirac said the bombings left him] stunned and saddened, ... perpetrators of this cowardly attack.

We are saddened by the statements of the French prime minister and of President (Jacques) Chirac.

I have come here to see for myself what is happening and to discuss with the president and the prime minister what we can do together in the short and the long term.

The president has been asking me for the last three years to come, I am happy to be among you.

The negotiators, I think, have left things perilously late in light of the date of the summit, which was announced well in advance,

The gruesome attack can only be described as dastardly and cowardly. Its perpetrators deserve the severest condemnation of the entire global community.