Events at Dagestan Airport Result of Outside Interference - Kremlin

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin is receiving reports on the situation in Dagestan from the Federal Security Service (FSB), the Russian Guard and the Governor Sergey Melikov, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.

"Last night and this morning, Putin received and is receiving detailed reports on the situation in the Republic of Dagestan from the FSB, Russian Guard, the head of the republic Sergey Melikov," Peskov told a briefing.

Events at Makhachkala airport are a result of outside interference, the spokesman said.

"It is well known and obvious that yesterday's event at Makhachkala airport are largely a result of outside interference, including outside information influence," Peskov said.

On Sunday, a crowd of people stormed a ramp at the Makhachkala Airport after the landing of a passenger plane from Tel Aviv. The rioters were allegedly looking for Israeli citizens on board the aircraft amid the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Police officers arrived at the scene to stop the protesters. As a result of the clashes, over 20 people were injured and over 10 people with minor injuries sought outpatient medical care, the Russian Health Ministry said.

Such an opinion as the one voiced by world-renowned economist and professor at the US's Columbia University Jeffrey Sachs, who calls on Washington to reconsider its stance on Russia, is rare, but some kind of discussion is starting, Dmitry Peskov said.

"There is no other option now, no other proposals exist now. This is the point of view of this economist, nothing more. This is quite a rare reasoning in our time, especially in the Western mainstream. Such reasoning is very rare now, but nevertheless, some kind of discussion is still gradually flaring up," Peskov told reporters.

According to Sachs's latest article, Ukraine is under threat of economic, demographic and military collapse. The economist believes that the United States urgently needs to change its course and begin negotiations to avoid the collapse of Ukraine, promise not to expand NATO to the east and recognize Crimea and new regions of Russia as Russian.