Vladimir Putin on Monday accused Ukraine and its Western allies of inciting Sunday’s storming of an airport in Dagestan (a predominantly Muslim Russian Caucasian republic), where hundreds of protesters were “looking for Israelis” after learning a flight from Tel Aviv was about to land. . Putin asked Russian security services to take “tough measures” in response, AFP reports.

“The events that took place last night in Makhachikal were provoked, including through social networks, especially from Ukraine, by agents of Western special services,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a government meeting dedicated to the incident.

Ukrainians “under the trowel of their Western bosses are trying to organize pogroms in Russia,” he accused.

Putin also pointed to the role of the United States, Russia’s rival and staunch supporter of Kyiv, in the conflict against Moscow.

“Without success on the battlefield, (the United States) want to divide us, as far as Russia is concerned, from the inside, weaken us and sow confusion,” Putin also accused on Russian television.

On Monday, the Kremlin leader held a meeting with high-ranking Moscow officials to discuss “Western attempts” to “split” Russian society.

His spokesman, Dmytro Peskov, said this after reporters asked him about the incident on Sunday night, when hundreds of people stormed Makhachikala Airport in Russia’s Dagestan region after learning they were about to land on a flight from Tel Aviv.

Located in the Caucasus, Dagestan is one of Russia’s Muslim-majority provinces, as is neighboring Chechnya.

“At around 19:00 today, President Putin plans to hold a large representative meeting (local time) and discuss the West’s attempts to use events in the Middle East to divide Russian society. A detailed conversation will take place,” Dmytro Peskov said on Monday.

He clarified that Putin will personally take part in the meeting, which will take place behind closed doors.

The Kremlin said that the incident at the airport was due to “external interference”

Putin’s press secretary did not want to comment on the measures that may be taken against the participants of the events in Makhachkala, which took place against the background of worsening relations between Russia and Israel.

According to the latest information from the Russian authorities, more than 20 people, including policemen, were injured as a result of the incidents, and 60 people were detained. The authorities and religious leaders of Dagestan condemned the incident, calling it a “provocation”.

On Monday, Peskov also stated about “external influence” on the incident.

“It is common knowledge and obvious that yesterday’s events around Makhachkala airport are the result of outside interference, including influence peddling,” he said, adding that “criminals” were using images of Palestinian suffering in the Gaza Strip to inflame spirits in the country. Dagestan.

He did not specify who the Kremlin suspects of organizing the incident.

Washington calls Moscow’s accusations “absurd”.

The United States on Monday described as “absurd” Russian accusations that Ukraine played a “key role” in anti-Israel riots a day earlier at an airport in Dagestan, Russia’s predominantly Muslim republic in the Caucasus.

“I saw their comments blaming Ukraine, and they are absurd (…) We believe that instead they should bring the culprits to justice,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

“We call on the Russian authorities to publicly condemn these violent demonstrations and ensure the safety of Israelis and Jews in Russia,” the US diplomatic spokesman added.