Any “normal person” would be outraged by images of “bloody children” in the Gaza Strip, but Russians must “keep a clear mind”, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today.

Putin made the statement while commenting on the October 29 riots at Makhachkala airport in Russia’s Muslim-majority Dagestan region, when hundreds of people stormed the airport in search of Jews who had just arrived on a flight from Tel Aviv. .

Putin has blamed Ukraine and the West for causing the unrest, a claim both Kiev and Washington have dismissed as false.

“Regarding these events in Makhachkala… it was easy to throw a spark, very easy. Against the background of the horrors that are taking place there (Gaza), it’s easy to do that, because… when you see the pain and the bloody children, you clench your fists and tears come to your eyes.”

Putin added:

“And that, I think, is the reaction of any normal person. And if there is no such reaction, then this man has no heart, he is made of stone. Nevertheless, we must process these events with a clear mind and understand where the root of the evil is.”

Apparently taken by surprise, Dagestan authorities managed to evacuate the passengers to safety, but not before the bus carrying them was chased around the airport by a mob angry over Israel’s shelling of Gaza in response to the massacre of Israeli civilians by Hamas in October 7.

Police made more than 80 arrests and Putin held an emergency meeting with security chiefs to discuss what should be done to prevent similar events from happening again.

Russia, which wants to broker a cease-fire in Gaza and supports the existence of two states, has tried to reach out to all sides in the Israel-Hamas conflict, but drew the ire of the Israeli government when it invited a Hamas delegation to Moscow .

Israel’s foreign ministry then summoned the Russian ambassador to explain.