Russia says it has no contacts with West following concert hall attack

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Kremlin on Monday said currently there are no contacts between Russia and the West following the Crocus City Hall shooting which killed at least 137 people and injured over 180.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists in Moscow that while there are no contacts with Western countries, President Vladimir Putin has had many phone conversations during the past day with world leaders, which focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in combating terrorism.

Commenting on whether the US warned Russia of the attack on the concert hall, Peskov said intelligence is provided to special services, but cannot be disclosed as it falls into the category of sensitive information.

Peskov said the Kremlin is currently not participating in the discussion of lifting the moratorium on the death penalty, amid discussions of taking such a step among Russian lawmakers in parliament.

The spokesman refused to comment on who the detained people in the investigation surrounding the shooting are, expressing that an investigation is underway.

Asked about the Daesh/ISIS group claiming responsibility for the attack, Peskov urged to rely on information from law enforcement agencies.

At least 137 people were killed and over 180 others injured after gunmen on Friday opened fire when rock band Picnic was about to perform at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow region.

The Investigative Committee said it detained 11 people, including four perpetrators, in the border region of Bryansk on their way to Ukraine.

Moscow's Basmanny district court late Sunday charged the four perpetrators for terrorism and approved their pre-trial detention until May 22.