Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday sought to blame the West for the crisis in the Middle East, where Israel is bombing the Gaza Strip to try to eradicate Hamas terrorists who killed some 1,400 people in Israel on Oct. 7.
In a televised statement to a meeting of members of his Security Council and the government and the heads of law enforcement agencies, Putin said the "ruling elites of the US" and their "satellites" stood behind the killing of Gaza's Palestinians, and behind events in Ukraine, Iraq and Syria.
He also accused Western intelligence services and Ukraine of helping whip up trouble in Dagestan, where a mob on Sunday night attempted to intercept passengers at an airport that had just arrived from Israel.