Riyadh: The recent murder of four French tourists will not affect the strong, deep-rooted Saudi-French relations, said an official at the Saudi embassy in Paris.

Three French citizens were killed on Monday in Saudi Arabia during an ambush by gunmen. The fourth a teenager, whose father was among the three been killed died from bullets wounds on Tuesday.

In press statements published yesterday, Waleed Qattan, head of political affairs section at the Saudi embassy in France, noted that the French media have expressed surprise of the terrorist attack following the significant success made by the Saudi security forces in containing terrorism in the Kingdom.

He added that both French President Jacques Chirac and Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy have condemned the attacks and expressed confidence in the capabilities of the Saudi authorities in moving to arrest the killers and bring them to justice.

Premature

The embassy official noted that it is premature to speak about the effect of the attack on the French public opinion, but added that French citizens in general know that terrorism is a global phenomenon and not linked to a particular country or region.

He pointed out that the swift movement of the Saudi security forces and its intensive efforts to find the killers and bring them to justice is the best action to contain any effect of the attack on the French public opinion.