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Kremlin Condemns Sinai Crash Cartoons As 'Blasphemy'


Russia has vehemently condemned Charlie Hebdo after the French satirical magazine published cartoons on the passenger plane crash in Egypt.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on November 6 that Moscow viewed the cartoon as "blasphemy" but will not make an official complaint.

State television news gave lengthy coverage to criticism of the cartoons, published on November 5.

One of them shows debris and human remains raining down on an armed Islamic State (IS) militant, with the caption: "IS: Russian aviation is intensifying bombardments," a reference to Russia's bombing campaign in Syria.

The Russian-operated Airbus went down over the Sinai Peninsula on October 31, killing all 224 people on board, most of them Russians.

Western officials say an explosive device may have caused the plane to crash.

IS-linked militants said they destroyed the airliner, but did not say how.

Based on reporting by AP and AFP

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