French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday said France has information that a branch of Islamic State (IS) carried out Friday’s attack in a Moscow concert hall, warning Russia against using the attack in the war against Ukraine.
France has intelligence that “it was an entity of Islamic State that planned the attack and carried it out,” Macron told reporters after arriving on a trip to the French South American region of French Guiana, adding that “this particular group made several attempts (at attacks) on our own soil.”
He warned however against any “exploitation” of the attack by Russia, saying it would be “cynical and counterproductive for Russia to use this context to try and turn it against Ukraine”. Macron also said Paris had offered Russian security services “increased cooperation”.
