MOSCOW, October 30. /TASS/: The attack carried out by a teenager on police officers in Tatarstan and the attack on church goers in France’s Nice have no connection between them, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov believes. According to him, the nature of the crimes is totally different.
"The events in France are events in France. Here we have one of the crimes, absolutely a criminal offence. What connection is there?" he said Friday when asked whether the incidents are connected in any way.
According to Peskov, he sees "certain criminal traces" in what happened in Tatarstan. "In essence, absolutely a criminal offence. It is very likely that there will be an investigation, but I think that it is all rather clear," the spokesman noted, adding that the Kremlin is not an investigative agency and is not aware of the case details. "It is not about the religion or religious denomination, it is about the legislation in effect," Peskov continued. "If you commit a crime, you are punished by law. Punishment should definitely be inevitable," he pointed out. "At the same time, Russia has rather unambiguous laws that prevent people from committing offences that have potential to insult feelings of religious people. We are coming from that," the spokesman concluded when asked if Russia expects a wave of extremist crimes amid the developments in France.
At the same time, Peskov failed to qualify actions of the Moscow police that prevented protesters from raising placards supporting journalists or come out in one-man protests but was calm when reacting to rallies that took place near the French embassy. "I can’t tell you anything here, you need to ask the Moscow authorities and the Moscow law enforcement," he said.
Attacks in France and Tatarstan
According to the Russian Investigative Committee, a teenager aged 16 tried to set a local police station on fire using an incendiary liquid in Kukmor, Tatarstan on Friday night. When police officers attempted to apprehend him, the teenager stabbed a police officer a few times. Another police officer fired a few warning shots in the air but was eventually forced to open fire at the offender. The teenager died before ambulance arrived. A criminal case was launched.
On October 29, France’s Nice was rocked by a violent attack as a man armed with a knife stabbed people in the Notre-Dame basilica. Three people were killed in the attack, while the attacker was detained. The French national counterterrorism office is now involved in the investigation. Eric Ciotti, member of the French National Assembly, informed that the criminal arrived in France from Tunisia recently. Two hours after the Nice attack, another criminal threatened passers-by with a knife in Avignon, he was shot dead when attempting to attack a police patrol. Moreover, the same day saw a local in the Saudi city of Jeddah wound a guard of the French consulate, the police apprehended him at the site.
