Russian lawmakers and government officials, including presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, on Friday lambasted the publication as "blasphemous."
"The notion of ‘blasphemy’ means nothing to us. We comment on the news, like any outlet," Briard said in an article published by the French broadcaster RFI.
He added the cartoons were not caricatures mocking those who died in the plane crash, but a depiction of the magazine’s perception of Saturday events. The airliner came down over Egypt's Sinai desert, prompting fears of a terrorist attack.
Charlie Hebdo gained worldwide attention after a January shooting spree at its Paris office that killed 12 people, including then editor-in-chief Stephane Charbonnier. The gun attack is believed to have been motivated by the outlet's publication of cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad.
