The US has dismissed the Kremlin’s accusations of Ukraine and the West for an antisemitic riot at an airport in Muslim-majority Dagestan, according to The Guardian.
A number of Russian officials, including leader Vladimir Putin himself, blamed Ukraine and “agents of Western special services” for orchestrating a provocation after an angry mob stormed into Makhachkala airport in search of Jewish passengers on a plane that arrived from Israel.
“The West had nothing to do with this. This is just hate, bigotry, and intimidation, pure and simple,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a White House briefing.
“Some people will compare it to the pogroms of the late 19th and early 20th century and I think that’s probably an apt description, given that video that we’ve seen out there,” he said of anti-Jewish attacks.
Earlier, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called Russian allegations of Ukrainian involvement “absurd” and called on Russian authorities to publicly condemn violent protests and to ensure the safety of Israelis and Jews in Russia.
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