Defense Minister speculates Smoleńsk crash was act of terror

Poland's defense minister, Antoni Macierewicz suggested at a lecture at the weekend that the 2010 Smoleńsk air crash, in which all 96 passengers died, including President Lech Kaczyński and his wife, was a terrorist attack. Although he didn't name any alleged culprits, the speculation came after naming a string of events blamed on Russia. "But there is no doubt that the (Russian) attack on Georgia was one that was first preceded by internal sabotage, inside Georgia. There's no doubt that what happened over Smolensk was aimed at depriving Poland of the leadership which led our nation towards independence," the Defence Minister stated. "After (the) Smolensk (plane crash), we can say that we were ... the first great victim of terrorism in the modern conflict that's playing out right before our eyes," Macierewicz said. Spokesman for the President of Russia, Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Macierewicz's comments are "invalid, biased and have nothing to do with the causes of the air crash."