Thursday, December 30 2004 10:30 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Washington: The United States has formed an international coalition with India, Australia and Japan to coordinate worldwide efforts to provide relief to victims of Sunday's (Dec 26, 2004) earthquake and tsunamis and to reconstruct the affected areas, US President George W Bush announced.

"We have established a regional core group with India, Japan and Australia to help coordinate relief efforts. I am confident more nations will join this core group in short order," Bush said at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he is holidaying.

Expressing his and the Americans' "shock and sadness" at "the terrible loss of life", Bush said he has spoken with "the leaders of India, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Indonesia, and expressed my condolences and our country's condolences".

"I told them of our support. I praised their steadfast leadership during these difficult times.

He said the US was committed to helping the affected countries in the weeks and months that lie ahead and that the help that the country has pledged so far was only the beginning of American response to the disaster.

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"We pledged an initial $ 35 million in relief assistance. We have deployed disaster experts to the region. All leaders expressed their appreciation for the hard work of our ambassadors and their embassy staffs to help the countries in need," he said.