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Kerry in Paris to honor victims of Paris shootings

Xinhua, January 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

U.S. State Secretary John Kerry on Friday offered his condolences to France over the victims of last week's terror attacks and pledged to reinforce further cooperation to fight terrorism.

The top U.S. diplomat expressed "the full and heartfelt condolences of the American people" in a visit to Paris in the wake of terror attacks in Paris which claimed 17 lives.

"We share the pain and the horror of everything you went through," Kerry said.

During a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, the two leaders "agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism," the French president's office said.

They also discussed the situations in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and Libya, the Elysee added in a press release.

Accompanied by his French counterpart Laurent Fabius, Kerry laid flowers on the streets outside the Jewish store and office of the weekly Charlie Hebdo where three armed men, claiming ties with Islamist cells, killed 17 people last week.

Addressing the Paris city hall, Kerry said "I'm joining with you to honor those who are not with us today."

"We will not be despaired. At the moment of heavy loss, we should be committed to defend the value which terrorist fear the most: tolerance and freedom. We have to fight together. We have no the choice," Kerry added.

Kerry plans to meet his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Jawad Zarif later in the day for talks on Teheran's nuclear program, according to local reports. Enditem