Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán conveyed his condolences to President Vladimir Putin and all citizens of Russia in a letter over the weekend following the brutal terrorist attack at Moscow’s Crocus City Hall. Bertalan Havasi, the prime minister’s press chief, informed MTI on Saturday about Orbán’s gesture of sympathy.
‘We were all devastated by the images of the dead, the wounded, and the destruction,’ PM Orbán wrote. He wished the families of the victims much strength during this difficult time and a speedy and full recovery to the injured.
‘Hungary is committed to supporting the fight against terrorism, and I assure the President that we will continue to contribute to the enhancement of international counter-terrorism operations,’ the prime minister concluded. He added: ‘We pray for the victims and their families,’ reaffirming solidarity in the face of such tragedy.
On Saturday, Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó spoke by phone with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, expressing his sincere condolences. ‘They are in our prayers, and we wish a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured in the terrorist attack,’ he said.
FM Szijjártó then confirmed that there is still
no information about any Hungarian having fallen victim or having been affected otherwise.
‘All Hungarian citizens registered for consular protection in Russia have been notified, and no calls to the consular hotline or the emergency number have been received from Hungarian citizens to date,’ he stressed.
Unclear Circumstances
Last Friday evening, gunmen broke into Moscow’s Crocus City Hall during a performance by the band Piknik. The terrorists opened fire indiscriminately, killing at least 137 people and injuring 182, according to information available at the time of writing this article.
Four men, including at least one Tajik, were remanded in custody for terrorism. They appeared separately, led into a cage at Moscow’s Basmanny district court by Federal Security Service (FSB) officers.
Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, a claim which the United States publicly stated it believed. The militant group has since released footage purportedly of the attack. US officials said they had warned Russia of intelligence about an imminent attack earlier this month.
However, there are still many questions surrounding the circumstances of the terrorist attack. Immediately after the tragedy, the possible involvement of Ukraine was raised. A spokesman for the US National Security Council (NSC) said on Sunday that Kyiv was not behind the attack. ‘ISIS bears sole responsibility for this attack. There was no Ukrainian involvement whatsoever,’ NSC spokesperson Adrienne Watson insisted in a statement.
However, the Kremlin has not ruled out the possibility of Ukraine’s involvement. Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in a video message on Saturday: ‘They [the terrorists] tried to hide and moved towards Ukraine, where, according to preliminary data, a window was prepared for them on the Ukrainian side to cross the state border.’
FSB said the gunmen had contacts in Ukraine and were captured near the border.
It said they were being transferred to Moscow.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, has questioned US assertions regarding the involvement of the Islamic State, which previously sought control over significant areas of Iraq and Syria, in the attack. In an article for the Komsomolskaya Pravda, Zakharova stated: ‘Attention – a question to the White House: Are you sure it’s ISIS? Might you think again about that?’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded on Saturday to the Kremlin’s accusations. ‘What happened in Moscow yesterday is obvious, and Putin and other scums are trying to shift the blame to someone else. Their methods are always the same. We have seen it all before,’ Zelenskyy wrote on X. ‘They came to Ukraine, burned down our cities, and then tried to blame Ukraine. They torture and rape people—and then blame them. They have brought hundreds of thousands of their terrorists to Ukrainian territory, and they are waging war against us, but they don’t care about what happens inside their own country.’
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the branch of ISIS responsible for the Moscow terror attack had attempted several attacks in France in recent months as well. ‘We must beware of any political use or misinformation on this issue, but rather be rigorous and effective. This is the spirit in which we are moving forward and I hope that Russia will do the same,’ Macron highlighted. He added: ‘It would be counterproductive for Russia itself and for the security of its citizens to try to turn this situation against Ukraine.’
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