Moscow Diplomatic Corps Pay Respects to Crocus City Dead - Still no Sign of Putin

Ambassadors and other representatives of more than 130 diplomatic missions congregated at a makeshift memorial set up in front of Crocus City Hall in memory of the victims of the March 22 terrorist attack on Saturday afternoon, Moscow time.

Those laying flowers included the US Ambassador, Lynne Tracy, the UK’s deputy head of mission, Tom Dodd, and more than 250 representatives from EU countries, Turkey, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East.

A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said “The memorial event was attended by heads and employees of over 130 diplomatic missions. We are deeply grateful to honorable representatives of the diplomatic corpus for their solidarity with the Russian people at such a difficult hour.”

The Russian state news agency RIA Novosti commented that attendees included representatives of a number of “unfriendly states.”

Since last Friday’s attack, thousands of people have left flowers, wreaths, teddy bears, and other tokens of respect after a makeshift memorial was erected at the Crocus City Hall.

Responding to questions as to why Vladimir Putin had not visited either the site of the atrocity or any of the wounded or families of the victims, Kremlin Spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that his boss may put up a tough exterior, but he has been deeply disturbed by… last week’s deadly attack.

“The head of state takes these tragedies to heart. And believe me, just because you don’t see tears on his face does not mean that he is not hurt. And I doubt if anyone, including you and me, knows about his inner turmoil,” Peskov told Russian media.

A Saturday update from the TASS state news agency, quoting figures from Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry said that number of people wounded in the attack now stood at 551. Neither the ministry nor the news site could explain why this figure was so much higher than those given in previous bulletins.

Russia’s Health Minister, Mikhail Murashko, said on Friday that the death toll had risen to 144 after a severely injured victim died in a hospital.

An affiliate of the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest on Russian soil for more than 20 years. However, Moscow continues to insist that Ukraine and the West had a hand in the terrorist attack a claim that Kyiv, along with Washington and London, has vehemently denied.