MOSCOW, April 2. /TASS/. Zamir Kabulov, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's Second Department of Asia, has accused the US and UK of trying to misdirect the Russian investigation of the Moscow concert hall attack by falsely suggesting it was carried out by the Islamic State terrorist group (banned in Russia).
Kabulov, who is also a special presidential representative for Afghanistan, made the statement in an interview with RTVI as he commented on reports that the attack on Crocus City Hall was perpetrated by Wilayat Khorasan (banned in Russia), a branch of the Islamic State.
The reports "were circulated at the request of the Anglo-Saxons, Americans and their satellites," he said.
"I personally see this as an attempt to lead the Russian investigation down a false trail," he said. "It is a bit contrived, and the fake claims of a certain ISIS are all too contrived, some sloppy work, an unprofessional attempt by the Anglo-Saxons to present everything in a different light for reasons we all understand," Kabulov said.
He said IS is "an international terrorist organization that is hostile to Russia, which was created by the Anglo-Saxons." According to the diplomat, this belief is based on the "experience of observing the ways of Anglo-Saxon special services."
"They financed, they created, they fine-tuned this organization primarily against Russia's allies in Central Asia," he said.
On March 22, terrorists attacked the Crocus City Hall concert venue just outside the Moscow city limits. According to the latest data, 144 people were killed and 551 suffered injuries. The Russian Investigative Committee said it had found evidence that the attackers were linked to Ukrainian nationalists.