the Kremlin justifies the absence of Vladimir Putin at the tributes, ensuring that he “feels fully concerned”

“Even if you don’t see tears on his face, that doesn’t mean he isn’t suffering,” declared the Kremlin spokesperson, eight days after the attack which left at least 144 dead.

More than a week after the attack which left at least 144 dead and 551 injured in the Crocus City Hall concert hall, near Moscow, the Russian president did not attend any tribute ceremony. Asked about this absence, the Kremlin spokesperson assured, during a short television interview broadcast on Saturday March 30, that Vladimir Putin “feels personally and fully concerned by these kinds of tragedies.”

“Believe me, even if you don’t see tears on his face, that doesn’t mean he’s not hurting.”justified Dmitri Peskov. "It’s unlikely that anyone will know and understand what he’s going through, including you and me," continued the Kremlin spokesperson.

No meeting planned with the families of the victims

According to the RIA Novosti agency, American, European, African and South American diplomats went on Saturday to the scene of the attack claimed by the jihadist group Islamic State, to lay flowers and observe a minute of silence.

The Russian president waited until the day after the attack to speak publicly. On Monday, he admitted that the attack had been committed by “radical Islamists”but Russian authorities have accused Ukraine and its Western allies, who strongly deny it, of having “ease”.

On Thursday, the Kremlin announced that the newly re-elected head of state had no immediate plans to meet the families of the victims, nor to visit the scene of the attack.