French President Emmanuel Macron stated on Monday that France possesses intelligence indicating that the Islamic State (IS) orchestrated the attack at a Moscow concert hall on Friday.
He cautioned Russia against exploiting the incident by attributing it to Ukraine.
Addressing reporters during his visit to French Guiana, Macron disclosed, “France has information that ‘it was an entity of Islamic State that planned the attack and carried it out.'”
He emphasized that this particular group had previously attempted attacks on French soil.
However, Macron cautioned Russia against leveraging the attack for political gains, stating that such exploitation would be “cynical and counterproductive.”
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He warned against attempts to frame Ukraine for the attack.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the assault, which resulted in the deaths of 137 individuals.
Moscow has refrained from commenting on the claim, with security services and President Vladimir Putin suggesting potential links to Ukraine.
Macron mentioned that France had offered increased cooperation to Russian security services and hinted at forthcoming discussions on technical and ministerial levels, bypassing direct talks with Putin.
Macron has not engaged in personal conversations with Putin since attempting to dissuade him from the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Meanwhile, Russia has ordered the detention of four men accused of perpetrating the massacre at the Moscow concert hall on “terror” charges.
The death toll is anticipated to rise as over 100 individuals remain hospitalized.
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