UPDATE 2 - Turkey's president condemns France terror attack

ADDS COMMENTS BY TURKEY'S PM AND HEAD OF RELIGIOUS AFFAIRS DIRECTORATE

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s president on Friday led condemnation of the terror truck attack in the French city of Nice that killed 84 people celebrating Bastille Day.

“I strongly condemn the inhumane terrorist attack that happened during France’s National Day celebrations,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement. “Being exposed to many terror attacks, we fully understand France.”

Turkey has been the target of numerous terror attacks carried out by Daesh and the PKK over the last year, the most recent being the Istanbul airport attack last month that killed 45.

Erdogan said the “barbarous” Nice attack again demonstrated the need for a “decisive and consistent” anti-terror drive. Those with a “hesitant” attitude towards terrorism “should learn lessons” from the attack, he added.

“These barbarians do not, and should not, have any place in the world,” Erdogan said. “We are all seeing that for terrorists there is no difference between Turkey and France, Iraq and Belgium, or Saudi Arabia and America.”

He also offered his condolences to the victims’ families and wished a speedy recovery to the injured.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim also decried the attack, urging states and international bodies, especially the United Nations, to collaborate and cooperate against any terror organization.

"We share the pain of the French people,” he said. “I would like to say that Turkey will be in cooperation with the French government on counter-terrorism."

In addition, presidential spokesman Ibrahim Kalin denounced the “modern barbarians” who carried out the attack, who he said “have nothing to do with religion and humanity.”

In a statement released online, he added: “There is no room for them in this world -- nor should there be. On this sad day, we stand in solidarity with France. Joint action against all forms of terrorism is a global responsibility and necessity.”

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus also condemned the terror attack on his Twitter account.

"I strongly condemn this heinous attack. I share the pain of the people of France and offer my condolences," he tweeted.

On Twitter, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also railed against the “barbaric terrorist attack in Nice,” saying that the world should “combat terrorism resolutely wherever it happens, regardless of who commits it.”

He added that Turkey would “continue to fully cooperate with France and all other partners in the fight against terrorism.”

EU Minister Omer Celik also condemned the “horrible” events in Nice in “the strongest possible terms.”

“Terror is always brutal wherever or in whatever form or with whatever motives it attacks humanity,” he tweeted. “We should all unite against it.”

The head of Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, Mehmet Gormez, described the attack as "evil," adding that "this attack is not an attack on France, Europe, or on the West.

"It is an attack on every human being who cherishes world peace irrespective of whether they believe in a religion, or if they do believe in a religion, what their faith is."