02:34Mandatory credit: UNTV/News use only
The UN secretary general's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said that the organisation had 'no information to verify or confirm' the Russian FSB head's claim of Ukrainian involvement in the Crocus City Hall attack, speaking in New York on Tuesday.
"Today, the Director of Russian Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, stated that the first data taken from the people detained after the terrorist attacks in Moscow show clearly the Ukrainian trace. What’s your comment regarding that?" he was asked.
“We have no information to verify or confirm that. You’ll have seen what the Secretary-General said in his statement on Friday, and that is where we stand on this issue," Haq replied.
Asked about the Secretary General Antonio Guterres' statement that 'the 7 October attacks did not happen in a vacuum' and whether it was true of the Moscow attack, he stated 'these are separate incidents'.
"His standpoint across the board is that actions don’t just erupt out of nowhere. And ultimately, if we want to deal with problems, we have to look at what was underlying how those problems came about. That would be the case across the board, in Russia, in Israel and everywhere," he added.
Asked if it meant 'ISIS grievances' should be 'taken into account going forward' he replied that it was a 'bit of an oversimplification'.
"Ultimately, if you want to prevent problems from arising, you have to look at what contributes, whether it’s socioeconomic factors on the ground, whether it’s how people have been educated, how militants have come into their mindset," he said. "This is something we talk about in various different reports, including the reports we deal with that come out from our counterterrorism office.”
Late on Friday, March 22, unidentified individuals dressed in military fatigues opened fire in the Crocus City Hall, a 6,000-seat multipurpose concert hall where a Russian rock band was set to perform. A massive fire broke out in the building shortly after.
At time of publication, 139 people were reported to have been killed. On Sunday, March 24, the Basmanny Court of Moscow ordered a number of suspects to be remanded in custody until May 22, on charges of 'terrorism'.
President Vladimir Putin declared a day of mourning and described the attack as a 'barbaric terrorist act' in a televised address on Saturday, adding that the suspects had been detained close to the border.
"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," Putin claimed.
On Monday, he said that 'radical Islamists' were responsible but also hit out at the US for 'trying through various channels to convince its satellites and other countries of the world that, according to their intelligence, there is allegedly no trace of Kiev in the Moscow terrorist attack'.
"We want to know who ordered it," he added.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) also claimed the attackers planned to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border and 'had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side'.
The White House stated that it was a ' terrorist attack that was conducted by ISIS' and that there was 'absolutely no evidence that the government of Ukraine had anything to do with this attack'.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it 'categorically denies' accusations of Kiev’s involvement in the shooting.
'No information to verify or confirm' - UN spox on FSB claims of 'Ukrainian trace' in Crocus City Hall attack
The UN secretary general's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said that the organisation had 'no information to verify or confirm' the Russian FSB head's claim of Ukrainian involvement in the Crocus City Hall attack, speaking in New York on Tuesday.
"Today, the Director of Russian Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, stated that the first data taken from the people detained after the terrorist attacks in Moscow show clearly the Ukrainian trace. What’s your comment regarding that?" he was asked.
“We have no information to verify or confirm that. You’ll have seen what the Secretary-General said in his statement on Friday, and that is where we stand on this issue," Haq replied.
Asked about the Secretary General Antonio Guterres' statement that 'the 7 October attacks did not happen in a vacuum' and whether it was true of the Moscow attack, he stated 'these are separate incidents'.
"His standpoint across the board is that actions don’t just erupt out of nowhere. And ultimately, if we want to deal with problems, we have to look at what was underlying how those problems came about. That would be the case across the board, in Russia, in Israel and everywhere," he added.
Asked if it meant 'ISIS grievances' should be 'taken into account going forward' he replied that it was a 'bit of an oversimplification'.
"Ultimately, if you want to prevent problems from arising, you have to look at what contributes, whether it’s socioeconomic factors on the ground, whether it’s how people have been educated, how militants have come into their mindset," he said. "This is something we talk about in various different reports, including the reports we deal with that come out from our counterterrorism office.”
Late on Friday, March 22, unidentified individuals dressed in military fatigues opened fire in the Crocus City Hall, a 6,000-seat multipurpose concert hall where a Russian rock band was set to perform. A massive fire broke out in the building shortly after.
At time of publication, 139 people were reported to have been killed. On Sunday, March 24, the Basmanny Court of Moscow ordered a number of suspects to be remanded in custody until May 22, on charges of 'terrorism'.
President Vladimir Putin declared a day of mourning and described the attack as a 'barbaric terrorist act' in a televised address on Saturday, adding that the suspects had been detained close to the border.
"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," Putin claimed.
On Monday, he said that 'radical Islamists' were responsible but also hit out at the US for 'trying through various channels to convince its satellites and other countries of the world that, according to their intelligence, there is allegedly no trace of Kiev in the Moscow terrorist attack'.
"We want to know who ordered it," he added.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) also claimed the attackers planned to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border and 'had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side'.
The White House stated that it was a ' terrorist attack that was conducted by ISIS' and that there was 'absolutely no evidence that the government of Ukraine had anything to do with this attack'.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it 'categorically denies' accusations of Kiev’s involvement in the shooting.
Mandatory credit: UNTV/News use only
The UN secretary general's deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said that the organisation had 'no information to verify or confirm' the Russian FSB head's claim of Ukrainian involvement in the Crocus City Hall attack, speaking in New York on Tuesday.
"Today, the Director of Russian Federal Security Service, Alexander Bortnikov, stated that the first data taken from the people detained after the terrorist attacks in Moscow show clearly the Ukrainian trace. What’s your comment regarding that?" he was asked.
“We have no information to verify or confirm that. You’ll have seen what the Secretary-General said in his statement on Friday, and that is where we stand on this issue," Haq replied.
Asked about the Secretary General Antonio Guterres' statement that 'the 7 October attacks did not happen in a vacuum' and whether it was true of the Moscow attack, he stated 'these are separate incidents'.
"His standpoint across the board is that actions don’t just erupt out of nowhere. And ultimately, if we want to deal with problems, we have to look at what was underlying how those problems came about. That would be the case across the board, in Russia, in Israel and everywhere," he added.
Asked if it meant 'ISIS grievances' should be 'taken into account going forward' he replied that it was a 'bit of an oversimplification'.
"Ultimately, if you want to prevent problems from arising, you have to look at what contributes, whether it’s socioeconomic factors on the ground, whether it’s how people have been educated, how militants have come into their mindset," he said. "This is something we talk about in various different reports, including the reports we deal with that come out from our counterterrorism office.”
Late on Friday, March 22, unidentified individuals dressed in military fatigues opened fire in the Crocus City Hall, a 6,000-seat multipurpose concert hall where a Russian rock band was set to perform. A massive fire broke out in the building shortly after.
At time of publication, 139 people were reported to have been killed. On Sunday, March 24, the Basmanny Court of Moscow ordered a number of suspects to be remanded in custody until May 22, on charges of 'terrorism'.
President Vladimir Putin declared a day of mourning and described the attack as a 'barbaric terrorist act' in a televised address on Saturday, adding that the suspects had been detained close to the border.
"They tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them from the Ukrainian side to cross the state border," Putin claimed.
On Monday, he said that 'radical Islamists' were responsible but also hit out at the US for 'trying through various channels to convince its satellites and other countries of the world that, according to their intelligence, there is allegedly no trace of Kiev in the Moscow terrorist attack'.
"We want to know who ordered it," he added.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) also claimed the attackers planned to cross the Russian-Ukrainian border and 'had relevant contacts on the Ukrainian side'.
The White House stated that it was a ' terrorist attack that was conducted by ISIS' and that there was 'absolutely no evidence that the government of Ukraine had anything to do with this attack'.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said it 'categorically denies' accusations of Kiev’s involvement in the shooting.