India Saturday condemned the assassination of Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar as a "heinous act" and said he was a "long-standing friend of India".

Indian External Affairs Ministry said in a statement that India hoped the "perpetrators of this terrorist crime" will be brought to justice.

It reiterated India's support to the unity and territorial integrity of Sri Lanka and said New Delhi will extend its full support to "our friendly neighbor in its hour of need".

"We have every confidence that government and friendly people of Sri Lanka will rise to the challenge and defeat the forces which seek to undermine Sri Lanka's unity and political stability, " the statement said.

"His death is clearly a loss to the India-Sri Lanka relationship," said N.N. Jha, former Indian high commissioner to Sri Lanka.

Although his death was a "big blow" to the peace process in Sri Lanka, Jha said Kadirgamar's death will not affect bilateral relations as the entire Sri Lankan leadership is committed to good relations with New Delhi.

Kadirgamar was shot dead near his residence in Colombo at midnight Friday by unidentified militants, dealing a major blow to President Chandrika Kumaratunga's government, which strongly depended on him to bargain peace with Tamil rebels.

Source: Xinhua