31/01/2006 (Agence Europe) - The Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen hinted on Monday evening that he personally condemned the publication of controversial caricatures of the prophet Mohammed in Jyllands-Posten in Denmark, which has caused indignation in the Muslim world and was discussed at the General Affairs Council meeting on Monday (see EUROPE 9120). He told Danish television he personally had such respect for people's religious beliefs that he had never been able to depict Mohamed, Jesus and other religious figures in a way that might be insulting to others. He said, however, that freedom of speech existed in Denmark, where the media is free and dependent and could decide for themselves what caricatures to publish. Meanwhile, the editor-in-chief of Jyllands-Posten wrote a letter to Jordanian press agency Petra on Monday evening to apologise, saying that the pictures did not violate Danish legislation but had undeniably offended a lot of Muslims, for which he apologised.