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June 14, 2016 Special Dispatch No. 6473

Russian Reactions To The Orlando Terror Attack

June 14, 2016
Russia | Special Dispatch No. 6473

No major comments appeared in the Russian media the day after the Orlando terror attack targeting the LGBT community, for which ISIS (The Islamic State) claimed responsibility. Russian President Vladimir Putin sent an official condolence message to President Barak Obama, saying that the Russian people share the pain and the grief of those who lost family members and loved ones as a result of the "barbaric crime."[1]However, the Russian media carried some reactions.

The State Duma's Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman, Aleksey Pushkov, who is very active on social networks, posted harsh comments on Obama's foreign policy to his Twitter account. Pushkov wrote: "Obama has compared Russia to ISIS. But dozens of Americans were killed not by Russian hands but by those of ISIS. Obama has to retract his words." Actually, Obama never compared Russia to ISIS, but at the 69th General Assembly of the UN, the U.S. President said that today's three most significant global threats are: Ebola, "Russian aggression in Europe" and "the brutality of terrorists in Syria and Iraq."[2]

 
(Source: Twitter.com/alexey_pushkov, June 13, 2016)

The Speaker of Russia's State Duma Sergei Naryshkin had a different interpretation: the Orlando tragedy resulted from the negligence displayed by the U.S. intelligence services. Narishkin said: "As for the conclusions by the U.S. authorities, of course, this is a blatant error of the U.S. intelligence services. They admitted that they interrogated the terrorist three times at various times."[3]

Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maria Zakharova took a strong stand against homophobic comments appearon  Russian social network accounts, following the Orlando attacks. Although Russia itself has been frequently criticized by the West for its poor LGBT rights record. Zakharova on her personal Facebook account wrote unequivocally: "Comments like 'nothing to regret about those killed in Orlando - they are gays' are simply disgusting. It's beyond good and evil to state that 'they put a cross[hair] on their lives by being homosexual'. What if children with special needs were killed - would they say '50 spongers less?'. And what if the attack was aimed at a maternity hospital? - They should have checked the personal file of every pregnant patient?  I want to toss to the same place people who assume that condolences are impossible due to - they state millions of reasons, starting with 'they do not show compassion to us' and ending with 'it's their own fault'. It's time to make a choice: does the compassion derive from humanitarian grounds or does it stem from social -political beliefs.  I feel strange writing this but I'll do it: 

1) It is impermissible to decide questions about any inclination by a weapon.

2) You cannot defend the most correct, traditional values if you lack compassion."[4]

 

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Source: Facebook.com/maria.zakharova.167; June 13, 2016.

As for the upcoming U.S. elections, the Russian media senses that after the Orlando attacks, the U.S. electorate will gravitate towards the Republican presumptive nominee Donald Trump.[5] However, no particular preference was shown for one U.S. candidate over the other in the Russian media.

On June 13, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov chatted over the phone with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. They discussed  the situation in Syria and possibilities for cooperation Russia-U.S. cooperation in fighting terrorist organizations such as ISIS there.[6]

 

Endnotes:

[1] Kremlin.ru, June 12, 2016.

[2] whitehouse.gov, September 24, 2014.

[3] Tass.ru, June 14, 2016.

[4] Facebook.com/maria.zakharova.167; June 13, 2016.

[5] Mk.ru, June 13, 2016.

[6] Mid.ru, June 13, 2016.

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