NOVO-OGAREVO, March 22. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed condolences to the injured and families of those killed in terrorist attacks in Brussels on Tuesday.

"We have met to talk about bilateral relations first of all. But in view of the current tragic events in Belgium I, certainly, should begin with the words of condolences to the injured and families of the killed. We have many times discussed problems of combating terrorism. Of course, only by joint efforts it is possible to fight it," Putin said at a meeting with his Finnish counterpart Sauli Niinisto.

The president of Finland said for his part that he is grieving together with the Belgian people and agreed that international terrorism can be defeated only by pooling efforts.

The number of Tuesday’s terrorist attacks’ victims in Belgium’s capital Brussels, according to latest reports, has increased to 34 people. Twenty people were killed in a metro blast in Brussels and another 14 were killed by two blasts at the capital’s airport.