Web desk,
World leaders sent messages of solidarity on the 20th anniversary of 9/11, saying the attackers had failed to destroy Western values.
Here are reactions
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that, “We can now say with the perspective of 20 years that they (the jihadists) failed to shake our belief in freedom and democracy,”.
“They failed to drive our nations apart, or cause us to abandon our values, or to live in permanent fear.”
Queen Elizabeth II, said in a message to US President Joe Biden, that the victims and survivors of 9/11 were in her prayers on Saturday’s anniversary of the attacks.
The 95-year-old monarch said: “My thoughts and prayers and those of my family and the entire nation remain with the victims, survivors and families affected.”
She also paid tribute to the first responders and rescue workers at the scene and the “resilience and determination of the communities who joined together to rebuild”.
The Queen and her late husband Prince Philip made a rare trip to the US in 2010, laying a wreath at Ground Zero and meeting relatives of victims, and she told Biden that this visit was “held fast in my memory”.
In a further royal tribute to the dead, who included 67 Britons, the US anthem was played on Saturday by fur-hatted Welsh Guards at the Changing of the Guard ceremony at Windsor Castle.
The president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, said “On 9/11 we remember those who lost their lives and honor those who risked everything to help them. Even in the darkest, most trying of times, the very best of human nature can shine through”.
“The horrific attacks of #September11 20 years ago changed the course of history. We remember the victims and noble sacrifice of so many first responders and aid workers. The EU stands by the US and @POTUS in the continued fight against terrorism and extremism in all its forms,” tweeted European Council head Charles Michel.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in an opinion piece that “September 11 reminded us that freedom is always fragile. As Ronald Reagan said, it ‘must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation”.
“That day was an attack on free peoples everywhere. It was an attack on our way of life and the values of liberal democracy. Despite the pain inflicted on that day, the terrorists ultimately failed in their attempts to crush our resolve and change our way of life.”
President Emmanuel Macron tweeted that “We will #NeverForget. We will always fight for freedom”.
“The 9/11 terrorist attacks in the USA in 2001 had a profound impact on global politics. Affirming the unconditional rejection of terrorism everywhere and always, Swiss President @ParmelinG expresses his solidarity with all of its victims,” the government spokesman said in a message.
Italy President Sergio Materrella said, “Italy stands in solidarity with the United States and its other allies to counter any terrorist threat”.
