MOSCOW (Reuters) – The Kremlin on Monday dismissed Western media speculation that Russia was behind a series of attacks against the French railway system and said that Western media frequently tried to blame Moscow for everything without evidence.
Saboteurs struck France’s train network in a series of pre-dawn attacks across the country on Friday, causing travel chaos and exposing security gaps just hours before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics.
France’s interior minister said on Saturday he could not rule out foreign involvement in an attack that sabotaged signal stations and cables on the country’s high-speed rail network, and some Western media outlets blamed Russia while others suggested left-wing activists were more likely culprits.
Asked about the media speculation that Russia was behind the attacks, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters: “These are just the latest fakes – more unsubstantiated accusations.”
“The fact is that there are a lot of such low-grade media, and even respected ones, that have recently not shied away from doing anything to blame Russia for everything that is happening,” Peskov said.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Monday that France suspects members of far-left groups were behind the sabotage of the rail network.
(Reporting by Dmitry Antonov; Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
