'IS Carried Out Moscow Attack, Made Attempts On France': Macron Cautions Russia Against Blaming Ukraine

French President Emmanuel Macron stressed on Islamic State's role in carrying out the Moscow attack and cautioned Russia against exploiting it to implicate Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that France possesses intelligence confirming that the Islamic State (IS) orchestrated the attack on a Moscow concert hall last Friday. Macron, while visiting French Guiana, informed reporters that "it was an entity of Islamic State that planned the attack and carried it out," and cautioned Russia against exploiting the attack to implicate Ukraine, news agency AFP reported.

Regarding IS, the French President also remarked, "This particular group made several attempts (at attacks) on our own soil." Opposing Moscow's bid to link the attack to Ukraine, Macron said it would be "cynical and counterproductive for Russia to use this context to try and turn it against Ukraine".

IS has claimed responsibility for the assault, which resulted in 137 fatalities, but Moscow has refrained from commenting on the claim. Instead, security services and Russian President Vladimir Putin have suggested potential links to Ukraine.

Macron disclosed that France has offered increased cooperation to Russian security services in the aftermath of the attack. This cooperation will occur on both technical and ministerial levels, although direct talks with Putin have not been scheduled, AFP's report stated.

Macron has not spoken with Putin since attempting to dissuade him from invading Ukraine in 2022. "We'll see how the context evolves and whether the coming days or weeks justify" a personal conversation, Macron remarked, as per the report.

France Raises Security Alert Level After Moscow Attack

French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Sunday announced that France was elevating its security alert to the highest level following the Moscow attack. Citing the IS claim of responsibility and existing threats, Attal declared a state of emergency. This decision comes just three months after a previous downgrade in January.

"Given the claim of responsibility for the attack by the Islamic State and the threats weighing on our country, we have decided to raise the Vigipirate state to its highest level: emergency attack," said Attal, as quoted by AFP.

France's terror alert system has three levels with the highest level activated in the wake of an attack in France or abroad or when a threat of such an incident is considered to be imminent. It paves the way for exceptional security measures such as stepped-up patrols by armed forces in public places like train stations, airports, and religious sites.