The US rejects Putin’s claim that the West organized an anti-Jewish rally at the airport

The United States has rejected Russia’s claims that anti-Israel riots at Dagestan airport on Sunday were organized by Ukraine and the West as “ridiculous.”

In a televised meeting on Monday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the incident was part of an attempt to spread “chaos” in Russia.

Hundreds of people stormed Makhachkala Airport before the arrival of a flight from the Israeli capital, Tel Aviv.

Many of them waved Palestinian flags and chanted anti-Semitic slogans.

Dagestan, one of Russia’s constituent republics, has a predominantly Muslim population, and the incident is believed to have been sparked by anger over the conflict in Gaza.

Eventually, security forces were able to bring the situation under control, and more than 60 people have been arrested since then, according to local authorities.

Putin said at a meeting of the Russian Security Council that “the events that took place in Makhachkala last night were instigated through social media networks, not least from Ukraine, by agents of Western special services.”

He added: “Who is organizing the deadly chaos and who benefits from it today, in my opinion, has already become clear.

“The current ruling elites in the United States and their followers are the main beneficiaries of instability in the world.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that “against the background of television footage showing the horrors of what is happening in the Gaza Strip – the killing of people, children and the elderly – it is very easy for enemies to exploit and provoke the situation.” “.

Dagestan’s governor, Sergei Melikov, said the riots were instigated “from the territory of Ukraine by traitors” using a Telegram channel called “Morning Dagestan.”

“Morning Dagestan” is an Islamist channel that opposes Russian control over the region, and has been linked to Ilya Ponomarev, a former Russian MP who defected to Ukraine in 2016 and obtained Ukrainian citizenship.

On Sunday, the channel published details of a flight that arrived in Makhachkala coming from Tel Aviv, and invited its followers to “meet the unexpected visitors.”

Following Melikov’s comments, the channel published a statement saying it had no connection to Mr. Ponomarev or Ukraine. Ponomarev said he stopped supporting the channel last year, although his statements in recent months contradict that claim.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the riots at the airport.

Asked about Russia’s claims at a White House press conference, John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, described them as “classic Russian rhetoric.”

“When things go wrong in your country, you blame someone else,” he said.

“The West has nothing to do with this. This is just hatred, fanaticism and intimidation, plain and simple,” he added.

He also said that comparisons between footage from the airport and massacres that occurred in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were “appropriate.”

A video clip widely circulated on social media showed a large crowd of people storming the airport, forcefully opening the doors and exiting onto the runway.

Some were also seen stopping cars outside and demanding to see passengers’ documents in an apparent search for Israeli passports.

The Russian Ministry of Health said that 20 people, including some police officers, were injured and that two of them were in critical condition.

After the incident, Melikov said that “all Dagestanis sympathize with the suffering of the victims due to the actions of unjust people,” but he described the events that took place at the airport as “heinous.”

A statement issued by the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the Israeli government views “with the utmost seriousness attempts to harm Israeli citizens and Jews anywhere.”

She added, “Israel expects the Russian legal authorities to protect the safety of all Israeli citizens and Jews wherever they are and to take strict measures against rioters.”