Russia says Israeli call for citizens to leave North Caucasus is 'anti-Russian'

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Israel's recommendation that its citizens leave Russia's North Caucasus region after a violent anti-Israeli protest in Dagestan on Sunday was "anti-Russian".

In a briefing with reporters, Zakharova said that the Israeli warning against travel in the mostly Muslim regions of the North Caucasus bore "no relation to reality".

Dozens were arrested after hundreds of protesters stormed Makhachkala airport in Dagestan on Sunday, looking for Jewish passengers on board a plane arriving from Tel Aviv.