MOSCOW, March 26. /TASS/. Russia will handle the investigation into the Crocus City Hall terrorist attack on its own, and does not need or welcome the West's help here, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference.
"First off, I am confident that we will manage the investigation," he said in response to a TASS question. "Secondly, we don't need any help [from the West], as it will clearly be rife with double standards and will most likely be aimed at promoting the theory the West wants, that the Islamic State terrorist group (IS, outlawed in Russia) was behind it, and Ukraine had nothing to do with it. We don’t need such help. I’ll reiterate: we’ll handle this on our own," the top diplomat said.
Lavrov also paid attention to the unexpected statement by Interpol about readiness to assist Russia in investigating the terrorist attack. "I personally can’t recall any such Interpol initiatives in previous cases, which also demanded the closest international attention. The most evident example is the Nord Streams sabotage," the minister pointed out.
"We’ve already accustomed ourselves to the double standards of our Western friends, and from now on we will act only taking into account our understanding of what the West is trying to achieve and by what methods," the top Russian diplomat emphasized.
On the evening of March 22, a terrorist attack targeted the Crocus City Hall music venue in Krasnogorsk, Moscow Region, just over the Moscow city limits. The current death toll is 139, and 182 people were injured. Eleven individuals suspected of being involved in the terrorist attack have been apprehended, including four gunmen who were detained in the Bryansk Region, southwest of Moscow, as they attempted to seek refuge by crossing the nearby Ukrainian border. President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that, according to preliminary information, the Ukrainian side had prepared "a window" in the border especially for the terrorists to cross undetected. He promised to identify and punish all those who were behind the attack on Crocus City Hall.