The official spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, noted on Wednesday that the United States has completely backed itself into a corner with its statements regarding the involvement of ISIS (banned in Russia) in the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall complex in the suburbs of Moscow. Zakharova told Sputnik radio today: "The fact that the Americans, within the first 24 hours (after the attack), even before the fire was extinguished, began shouting that this was not Ukraine, I believe this is evidence; I cannot classify this any other way, it is evidence in itself."
She added: "The second point is the U.S. claims that this is definitely the banned terrorist organization ISIS; indeed, the speed with which they did all this is astounding," noting that within just a few hours, journalists were summoned, and Washington announced its conclusion about who was involved in this horrific bloody terrorist attack.
She continued: "It seems to me that they have boxed themselves in completely, because as soon as they started shouting 'this is ISIS,' all the specialists in international relations, including scholars and political experts, have asked everyone to remember, what is ISIS? You yourselves stand behind ISIS; you - the U.S. and the U.K. - created it yourselves."
The terrorist incident occurred on the evening of March 22 at the Crocus City Hall entertainment complex in Krasnogorsk, near Moscow, resulting in the deaths of at least 139 people. Eleven individuals connected to the attack have been arrested, including the four attackers. Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a televised address, stated that preliminary information suggests that the Ukrainian side was preparing a corridor for the attackers to cross the border and promised to identify and punish all those responsible for the attack. According to a Supreme Court ruling in 2014, ISIS is considered a terrorist organization, and its activities are banned in Russia.
