MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/. The key role in the destructive event at the Makhachkala airport in Russia’s North Caucasus was played by the Kiev regime, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.

"The direct and key role in the implementation of another destructive event was given to the criminal Kiev regime, which, in turn, acted through the hands of egregious Russophobes that had settled down there," the diplomat said. "The promptness of [Ukrainian President] Vladimir Zelensky's statements and publications, as well as their content, is direct evidence that the sabotage attack in the media that was perpetrated by Kiev's special services was coordinated. It is a telling sign that the resources that were used to call for riots are associated with the fugitive rabble-rouser Ilya Ponomaryov (designated as a foreign agent in Russia - TASS), who had previously repeatedly and defiantly declared his desire to harm the Russian Federation."

Zakharova said the mass riots in Dagestan are the result of "a provocation that was planned and carried out from outside and aimed at undermining the harmonious development and ethno-confessional unity of the people of the Russian Federation."

"They were inspired by those who had already repeatedly resorted to blatantly extremist and terrorist methods in order to destabilize the internal political situation in Russia," the statement said.

"The intensification of sabotage and subversive work of the Ukrainian security services against Russia is quite understandable. The Kiev regime is now more than ever interested in destabilizing the situation in Russia and discrediting it on the international stage as the international community’s attention to the crisis around Ukraine is fading," the diplomat said.

According to the spokeswoman, Moscow will continue to play a stabilizing role in international affairs, including in the Middle East settlement, based on mutually respectful relations with all countries in the region, as it seeks to resolve disputes and conflicts on the basis of civilized dialogue.

Mass riots took place at Makhachkala airport on October 29 due to the arrival of a regular flight from Tel Aviv amid the escalation of the situation in the Middle East. Several hundred people entered the airport building and the airfield. They were later forced to leave by law enforcement officers. According to the latest data, more than 20 people were injured, including police officers, and 60 rioters were detained. Dagestani authorities and religious figures condemned the incident, linking it to a provocation.