MOSCOW, October 29. /TASS/. Chairman of Russian Federation Council committee on foreign affairs Konstantin Kosachev condemned the knife attack in France’s Nice, saying that nothing could justify such an attack.
"It’s yet another horrible crime that cannot be justified by anything, and I repeat - anything. And the recent caricature discussions have nothing to do with it," Kosachev told TASS Thursday.
He noted that religious arguments must be solved via different means, adding that "this issue is very volatile."
Early on Thursday, a man armed with a knife attacked people in Nice’s Notre-Dame cathedral. Three people were killed in the attack, several were injured. The attacker was apprehended by police; he was shot several times and has been hospitalized. According to Nice mayor Christian Estrosi, the attacker kept shouting "Allahu akbar."
On October 16, Samuel Paty, a history and geography teacher, was decapitated after exhibiting Charlie Hebdo’s caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad during a class, dedicated to freedom of expression.
After the killing, French President Macron announced a campaign against followers of radical ideologies and related organizations and promised that France would not renounce publishing the caricatures.