A day ahead of the fourth anniversary of the September 11 attacks, diplomats from the United States, Russia and several other countries on Saturday condemned nations that support terrorism and advocated stricter measures against them to stamp out the menace.
The diplomats, participating in a conference on global terrorism in New Delhi, said there should be no 'double standards' in the fight against terrorism and emphasised on closer cooperation among the world community in this fight.
Russian Ambassador Vycheslav Trubnikov said 'decisive action' should be taken against countries that promote and support terrorism.
"It is dangerous to use terrorism as a tool in the geo-political game as it can destabilise regions and backfire on the sponsors," he said without naming any country.
US diplomat Howard J Madnick also supported this view, and said, "We condemn the states that support terrorism and support those that fight terrorism."
He said the US supported sharing of technology and cooperation between countries to 'dry up' money for extremists and endorsed an international convention on terrorism first proposed by India in the United Nations.
In the backdrop of the July 7 blasts in London, British High Commissioner to India Sir Michael Arthur said his country was preparing to take strict steps against those who incite terrorism though they did not themselves participate in militant activities.
"In the past, it was not illegal to foster terrorism or incite violence. We intend to correct that," he said.
He said Britain was considering new measures to 'exclude or deport' those who incited violence through their speeches, by distributing pamphlets or other means.
"If they are British citizens, they will be prosecuted in the country itself," he said, claiming that the government move had the support of the Muslim leadership.
Arthur added that there was a need to 'break the association between Islam and terrorism in the minds of people' and that his country was committed to being a multi-cultural society.
"In this regard, we have a lot to learn from India where 150 million Muslims live in peaceful co-existence. You have a lot to show the world," he said.
