French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday that all signs point to the Islamic State group carrying out an attack on a concert hall outside Moscow that killed more than 130 people. The leader of the Elysee Palace also said that it would be “cynical and counterproductive” for Russia to blame Ukraine, Reuters and News.ro reported.

Russia has denied claims by the United States and other countries that Islamic State militants orchestrated Friday’s attack, accusing Washington of covering up Ukraine.

“The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for this attack, and the information available to us, our (intelligence) services, as well as our main partners, does indicate that the Islamic State organization was the one who instigated this attack,” — Macron said. .

“I believe that it would be cynical and counterproductive for Russia itself and the security of its citizens to use this context to try to turn it against Ukraine,” the French president also commented.

Vladimir Putin has not publicly mentioned the Islamist militant group in connection with the attackers, who he said were trying to flee to Ukraine.

The head of the Kremlin also said that some people from the “Ukrainian side” are ready to transfer the attackers across the border.

Ukraine denies any involvement in the attack, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has accused Putin of trying to deflect blame for the attack by mentioning Ukraine.