MOSCOW, April 25 (Itar-Tass) – The Boston Marathon bombing demonstrated that Russia and the United States should pool efforts in the fight against terrorism, President Vladimir Putin said in a televised question-and-answer session on Thursday.
Russia is a victim of international terrorism, Putin said noting that he always felt indignant “when western partners and media called terrorists, who committed atrocious, bloody crimes in Russia, as rebels and never – as terrorists, provided them assistance – financial, information, political support, sometimes direct and sometimes indirect.”
“We’ve always said there is no need to carry out with statements that terrorism is a common threat, but we need to carry out with deeds and cooperate with each other,” he said.
He noted that the Boston Marathon bombings “proved rightness of our thesis.”
Putin also called for stopping to make speculations over religious routes of terrorism.
“One can speculate on the tragedy of the Chechen people during Stalin’s repressions for a long while, but are they the only ones who suffered? The Russian nation suffered most of all,” he said expressing confidence that the issue is “not in nationality and not in confession.”
Tsarnayev brothers suspected of the Boston Marathon bombings lived in the U.S. and Dzhokhar Tsarnayev had the American citizenship. In this respect Putin drew attention to some U.S. politicians’ proposal to announce Dzhokhar Tsarnayev a prisoner of war.
“They are absolutely out of their right mind. Are they in the civil war there? Nonsense, they are making drivel,” Putin said.
“I encourage that this tragedy should bring us closer together to avert common threats,” the most dangerous of which is terrorism, he said.
“If we unite, we will not allow such blows,” Putin said.
On April 15 two blasts 12 seconds apart ripped through Boston’s centre. Three people were killed and 260 others were heavily wounded.
The U.S. authorities expressed confidence that Tamerlan Tsarnayev, 26, and Dzhokhar Tsarnayev, 19, were masterminds and perpetrators of the bombings.
Tamerlan was killed in the shooting with police. Dzhokhar received heavy wounds during detention and remains in a hospital of Boston.