REPORT: Brussels attacks trigger chain of reactions

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Swedish Prime Minister said on Tuesday that Brussels blasts are “an attack against democratic Europe.”

“It is an attack against democratic Europe. We will never accept that terrorists attack our open societies,” he said in a statement.

For his part, the Danish Premier Lars Lokke Rasmussen condemned the attacks on Twitter, describing them as “despicable”.

Britain's Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said "It's an ongoing incident, we are in contact with Belgian authorities, we'll obviously give them every assistance we can."

European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini said that "it is a sad day for Europe."

In turn, German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said that attacks in Brussels appear to be aimed not just at Belgium but at the entire
European Union and its freedoms,

"It seems that the clear targets of the attacks - an international airport, a metro station close to EU institutions
- indicate that this terrorist attack is not aimed solely against Belgium but against our freedom, freedom of movement, mobility and everyone in the EU," he told a news conference in Berlin.

Meanwhile, President Barack Obama spoke by telephone on Tuesday with Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel to offer his condolences and support after the attacks.

"The President reaffirmed the steadfast support of the United States for Belgium, and offered any assistance necessary in investigating these attacks and bringing those responsible to justice," the White House said.

This as French President Francois Hollande called for an emergency meeting of senior government ministers after a series of explosions in Brussels.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian were among those present, according to the president's office.

The deadly explosions were carried out at Brussels airport earlier on Tuesday by a suicide bomber, Belgium's federal prosecutor said according to broadcasters VTM and RTBF. A further blast struck a metro station in the capital shortly afterwards.

The blasts at the airport and metro station occurred four days after the arrest in Brussels of a suspected participant in the November militant attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.

Police had been on alert for any reprisal action in both capitals, which lie about 315 kilometers apart across an open border.

REUTERS/LBCI

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