External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Friday held a telephonic conversation, where the later informed her about the action taken by France to sanction Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar by freezing his assets.
Taking to Twitter, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Raveesh Kumar provided the details of the conversation.
"Telephonic conversation between EAM @SushmaSwaraj French Foreign Minister @JY_LeDrian on action taken by France to sanction Masood Azhar, Chief of the UN proscribed terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad," tweeted Kumar.
Kumar said that France has sanctioned the JeM chief at the national level by freezing his assets. The step comes days after China blocked a move to designate Azhar as a global terrorist by the UNSC.
Azhar had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attack.
The MEA said the French foreign minister also informed Swaraj that France has raised the issue with the European Union. "He reiterated that France has always been and will always be on India side in the fight against terrorism," said Kumar.
Swaraj, on her part, thanked Drian for France's "steadfast support" and said that India looked forward to continuing this cooperation on the anti-terrorism front.
The action on the part of France was an expression of partnership with India and was in consonance with the global intent by responsible nations committed to fight against terror, including cross-border terrorism anywhere in the world, the MEA said.
France, the US and the UK had moved a proposal at the UN to designate Azhar as a global terrorist after the February 14 Pulwama attack, in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.
