Russia condemns "external interference" in recent protests against Israel in Dagestan

Russia expressed its strong disapproval on Monday of what it described as "external interference" in the recent anti-Israeli protests that led to the closure of an airport in the predominantly Muslim region of Dagestan in the Caucasus on Sunday.

Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin's spokesperson, addressed reporters, stating that "the events that occurred yesterday at the Magas Airport are largely a result of external interference."

Russian police announced on Monday that they had detained sixty individuals suspected of storming the Magas Airport in the capital of the Republic of Dagestan, following reports of an Israeli passenger plane landing.

Protesters breached the passenger terminal, some brandishing Palestinian flags and chanting "Allahu Akbar." They proceeded to the airport's runway, bypassing security barriers in an attempt to inspect departing vehicles in search of Israeli passengers. These events were captured in videos circulated on social media and reported by Russian media outlets.

Peskov noted, "In the context of televised footage depicting the horror of what is happening in Gaza - the killing of people, including children and the elderly - it becomes very easy for enemies to exploit the situation."

The Kremlin did not provide further details regarding its claims of "external interference."

Peskov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin would hold a meeting later on Monday with his top advisers, including the Minister of Defense and heads of intelligence agencies, to discuss "Western attempts to exploit the events in the Middle East to divide the Russian society."

Sergey Melikov, the President of Dagestan, without offering evidence, stated on Monday that these disturbances were organized from Ukraine.

Speaking to journalists in comments reported by the Russian news agency RIA Novosti, he said, "The organizers of this action are naturally our enemies who orchestrated these actions from Ukrainian territory."

Meanwhile, Patriarch Kirill, the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, condemned the airport unrest, labeling it an attempt to "sow discord" between Jews and Muslims in Russia.

In a statement, Patriarch Kirill said, "I see what happened as an attempt to sow discord between Muslims and Jews in Russia, who have maintained friendly and good cooperative relations for centuries," emphasizing, "There is no moral justification for those who planned to attack the innocent."


AFP