US backed itself into corner by blaming IS for Crocus City Hall terror attack — diplomat
■ "The very fact that within the first 24 hours [after the attack], even before the fire was put out, the Americans started screaming that it wasn't Ukraine, I think, is a piece of incriminating evidence. I can't classify it otherwise; it is evidence in and of itself," the diplomat said on air during a Sputnik radio broadcast.
■ "The second fact to note concerns the clamor by the US that this assuredly was the work of ISIS (former name of IS - TASS)," the spokeswoman pointed out. "Of course, the speed with which they were able to [come to such forthright conclusions] is astonishing. It took them only a few hours to get to a microphone, turn on the lights, summon the press and draw a conclusion about who is to blame for this horribly bloody terrorist attack," Zakharova said.
■ "I think they’ve boxed themselves into a corner, because as soon as they started screaming that it was ISIS, all those people who work in international relations, who are political scientists and experts, recalled and reminded everyone else what ISIS really is," the diplomat said. "You are behind all those ISIS-type structures, you - the United States, Great Britain - yourselves brought them into being," she concluded.
■ Moscow slams ‘mother of all fakes’ (RT.com)
■ Russian lawmakers discuss lifting moratorium on death penalty after concert hall attack (Anadolu)
■ The American explanation for the Moscow terror attack doesn’t add up (Dmitry Trenin)