Fresh from engaging in a war of words with the Kremlin, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday that he has offered Russia “increased cooperation” to combat terrorism in the wake of the attack on a Moscow concert hall on Friday.
Mr Macron, who has become one of the most hawkish world leaders on the war in Ukraine, causing concern among his own allies by suggesting that NATO troops could be deployed into the warzone, appeared to offer an olive branch of sorts on Monday, offering Moscow French assistance in confronting the threat of terrorism.
He said per broadcaster BFMTV that his government “proposed to the Russian services, as to our partners in the region, increased cooperation” in the fight against terrorism, “taking into account the information available to our services and the elements which may be useful to the Russians.”
Macron said that for now the contacts with Moscow will be at the “technical and ministerial” rather holding direct talks with Vladimir Putin, but said: “We will see how the context evolves and whether the coming days or weeks justify it.”
However, despite ISIS claiming responsibility for the attack that saw at least 137 Russians killed and over 100 more injured, Moscow has so far been unwilling to recognise the Islamist terror group as being culpable, with Kremlin spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggesting on Monday that the United States was attempting to blame ISIS for the attack to cover up potential Ukrainian involvement.
Russia’s former President Dmitry Medvedev has also made similar claims, stating on Friday that: “If it is established that the Kiev regime’s terrorists are to blame… [they] must be tracked down and ruthlessly eliminated as terrorists.”
Kyiv has strenuously denied having any role after Vladimir Putin suggested that the four men charged with the attack were attempting to flee into Ukraine.
President Macron claimed that the ISIS splinter cell, the Islamic State in Khorasan (IS-K), believed to be responsible had made “several attempts” to conduct terror attacks in France in recent months.
“This particular group had carried out several attempts on our own soil in recent months,” Macron said.
Separately, French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said on Monday that “all countries are affected” and that the “Islamist threat can affect everyone at any time.” Darmanin added that there were terror attacks prevented nearly “every month” in France.
The comments from the French leadership came after Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on Sunday that the terror alert system would raise its threat warning to its highest level, calling for “maximum vigilance and protection in case of an imminent threat or in the aftermath of an attack.”
The attack on the Moscow concert hall has been compared to the 2015 attack on the Bataclan Theatre in Paris by ISIS terrorists, who killed 90 people attending a rock concert. On Monday, former French President François Hollande — who was the leader of France during the time of the 2015 attack — said that when he saw the images coming out of Moscow on Friday, he was “immediately” reminded of the Bataclan attack.
“They were the same Islamic State terrorists with the same methods: killers who come to decimate young people in concert halls who simply want to live and breathe” and “with the same fanaticism to create horror so that there are reactions that can fracture societies,” Hollande said.
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