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France's Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu
Photo: Tobias Schwarz / AFP
The French government has appealed to Russia not to exploit the Islamist-motivated terrorist attack near Moscow. Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu said his country had no information about a connection between the attack and Ukraine after a phone call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Shoigu. The two ministers had spoken to each other on the phone for the first time in around a year and a half. Lecornu condemned the attack near Moscow and reiterated France's willingness to cooperate in the fight against terror, it was said from Paris.
The “Islamic State” (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack two weeks ago in several letters of responsibility. Western security authorities and experts consider these messages to be credible and assume that the attack was carried out by the IS offshoot “Islamic State Khorasan Province” (ISPK). The Russian leadership is trying to portray Ukraine as the real mastermind.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Lecornu tried to convince the Russian side in the phone call that neither Ukraine nor Western countries were involved in the terrorist attack. According to Lecornu, IS is responsible for the attack. Shoigu emphasized that the investigation would be completed and all those responsible would be punished.
On March 22, four men unhindered stormed an event center on the outskirts of Moscow that was occupied by thousands of people, fired shots and set a fire. More than 140 people were killed in the worst terrorist attack in Russia in years. Several suspected terrorists and backers are in custody.
Russia insists on suspicion of terrorism against Ukraine
According to Moscow, the Russian side has evidence of a Ukrainian lead in organizing the terrorist attack. »The Kiev regime does nothing without the consent of the Western curators. We trust that the French secret services are not behind this case,” said Shoigu. Regarding the possible deployment of French troops to Ukraine, the Russian minister said that this would cause problems for France. According to Russian information, a number of French mercenaries have already died in Ukraine.
According to Paris, Lecornu condemned the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. France will support Ukraine for as long and as intensively as necessary in its struggle for freedom and sovereignty in order to restore peace and security on the European continent.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Shoigu had signaled willingness to engage in dialogue about the future of Ukraine. The basis for this could be the Istanbul peace initiative shortly after the start of the war in spring 2022. At that time, Ukraine was said to have been prepared to forego joining NATO. Shoigu described a peace summit planned by Kiev in Switzerland as pointless because Moscow was not represented there.
Zelenskyj: Russia wants to mobilize 300,000 men
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of new Russian operations and mobilization. In view of fears of new Russian offensives, he once again emphatically asked the Western allies for help. »We have to win this war. This is a historic opportunity for Ukraine to thwart Russian revanchism, and we must seize it," said Zelensky in his evening video message.
Experts assume that Russia could be planning a new major attack in order to bring additional areas under its complete control beyond the previously partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
According to Zelensky, Russia wants to mobilize 300,000 reservists for new military operations by June 1st. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected this. "That's not the truth," he said. Russia has repeatedly stated that it has enough volunteers for military service.
lpz/dpa