Finance Minister, Jeremy Hunt, stated on Sunday that the United Kingdom had “very little confidence” in Russia’s statements on the Moscow concert hall attack, accusing it of attempting to “justify” its assault on Ukraine.
At least 133 people were killed by armed attackers at the Crocus City Hall in a suburb on the northern edge of Moscow on Friday, with the Islamic State group claiming responsibility for the assault.
Russian authorities have not yet accused the group, but President Vladimir Putin has said the attackers were detained while “travelling towards Ukraine where, according to preliminary information, they had a window to cross the border”.
Russia’s FSB security service previously stated that the assailants had been “in communication” with individuals in Ukraine as they attempted to escape the country.
Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Hunt informed Sky News on Sunday, “I take what the Russian government says with an enormous pinch of salt… after what we’ve seen from them over the last few years.
“We know that they are creating a smokescreen of propaganda to defend an utterly evil invasion of Ukraine.
“But that doesn’t mean that it’s not a tragedy when innocent people lose their lives when you have horrible bombings,” he added.
The minister cautioned that the UK and other European countries should “absolutely” be concerned about the re-emergence of IS on the world stage.
“We are very fortunate in this country that we have incredibly impressive intelligence agencies who have been successful… in thwarting a lot of terrorist threats over recent years, but we have to remain vigilant,” he told Sky News.
“If it is Islamic State, they’re completely indiscriminate in what they do, they’re willing to kill in the most horrific manner,” he said.
AFP
