Russian president Vladimir Putin and top government and security officials on Monday have discussed strengthening measures to counter what they claimed was “external interference” following a weekend riot in Dagestan that targeted airline passengers from Israel, the Kremlin has said.
In a statement at the start of Monday’s meeting of members of his security council, the government and the heads of law enforcement agencies, Putin accused the West and Ukraine of stirring up unrest inside Russia after rioters in the predominantly Muslim Dagestan region stormed an airport to “catch” Jewish passengers on a flight from Tel Aviv.
He also accused the West and the ruling elite in the U.S. of being responsible for the crisis in the Middle East and said that Russia was fighting the same shadowy forces on the battlefields of Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Monday’s meeting had discussed “strengthening measures to counteract that same outside interference, including external information manipulations that can provoke the situation in our country, exploiting the theme of the same events in the Middle East”.
Humiliation of tens of thousands of immigrants in a Florida processing centre surrounded by alligators will generate a backlash
‘Everyone is digging for gold now’: Desperate Syrians resort to scouring ancient sites
The Strait of Hormuz: why is it so important?
Did Iran move its uranium? Opinions split on fate of 400kg stockpile
Kyiv denied any involvement in the events in Makhachkala, which Mr Peskov said Moscow was analysing to minimise the risk of a repeat.
(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2023
