April 4, 2024 (EIRNS)—Russia’s Defense Ministry reported that, at the “urgent request” of the French side, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu spoke by phone with his French counterpart, Sebastien Lecornu. They reported: “The French Defence Minister expressed his condolences in connection with the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall on 22 March 2024. At the same time, he persistently tried to convince that Ukraine and Western countries were not involved in the terrorist attack, shifting the responsibility to the Islamic State (IS).” https://t.me/mod_russia_en/13167
For his part, Shoigu “stressed that the investigation launched in connection with the terrorist attack in the Crocus City Hall would certainly be brought to an end, and all those responsible would be punished. There is information about Ukraine’s trail in the organization of the terrorist attack.” He said: ‘‘The Kiev regime does nothing without the approval of Western curators. We trust that in this case French special services are not involved in it.”
Otherwise, Shoigi warned that if French troops were to be deployed to Ukraine, “it would create problems for France itself.” And, the Russian readout concluded: “The sides expressed their readiness for dialogue on Ukraine. 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.”
