By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – Russia claimed on Wednesday that it found "Ukraine's trail" in organizing the Moscow concert hall attack late last month, which killed 144 people and injured over 550 others.
Defense Minister Sergey Shoygu spoke with his French counterpart Sebastien Lecornu by phone "at the urgent request of the French side," during which the latter expressed his condolences for the Crocus City Hall attack on March 22, according to a Russian Defense Ministry statement.
At least 144 people were killed and more than 550 others injured when gunmen opened fire on people at the Crocus City Hall in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Oblast. Russia has charged four people for their direct involvement in the attack, and they have been arrested in addition to seven others.
However, the French defense minister persistently “tried to convince that Ukraine and Western countries were not involved in the terrorist attack, shifting the responsibility to the Islamic State (Daesh/ISIS),” the statement said.
But Shoygu said the investigation into the attack will be completed and that all those responsible will be punished, the statement said, claiming that "there is information about Ukraine's trail in the organization of the terrorist attack."
“The Kyiv regime does nothing without the approval of Western curators. We trust that in this case, French special services are not involved in it,” the Russian defense minister was quoted as saying in the statement.
Shoygu also warned that sending French soldiers to Ukraine will create problems for Paris, reiterating that Moscow is ready to hold peace talks with Kyiv, it said, adding, “The starting points could be based on the Istanbul peace initiative.”
“Without Russia's participation, it would be pointless to hold a meeting in Geneva,” the statement said, referring to a global peace summit on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's 10-step peace formula planned to be held in Switzerland later this year.