Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has stressed that the Kremlin's threatening rhetoric doesn't frighten her.

Italian news agency ANSA noted that Meloni’s comments addressed Russian leader Vladimir Putin's remarks after the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall concert venue in Moscow's suburbs, which Kremlin propaganda is attempting to blame on Ukraine even though ISIS has claimed responsibility for it.

"I think the situation hasn't changed compared to what has happened before," Giorgia Meloni said.

"We have to continue our efforts, namely to secure the deterrence that Europe and the West have been able to put in place. And this is the best guarantee that there will be no escalation. If Putin's remarks scared us, we would have been frightened long ago," the Italian prime minister added.

Putin claimed that a "back door" had been prepared for the suspects in the attack to cross the border with Ukraine. Ukraine's Defence Intelligence responded by saying that these claims are entirely devoid of truth.

The United States has no doubt that ISIS was involved in the terrorist attack on a concert in the suburbs of Moscow on the evening of 22 March and had warned Russia in advance of the threat of such a terrorist attack.

Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron condemned nuclear threats against his country made by Pyotr Tolstoy, Deputy Speaker of Russia's State Duma (lower chamber of Russia's parliament).