President Biden stated Monday he was briefed “hour by hour” on the weekend revolt by the Wagner mercenary group in Russia and it’s too early to inform the place the scenario will lead as Russian President Vladimir Putin contends with the fallout.
Mr. Biden stated he convened a Zoom convention with allies to ensure everybody was on the identical web page. He wished to guarantee that Mr. Putin didn’t blame the beautiful problem to his management on NATO or the U.S.
“We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it,” Mr. Biden stated in the beginning of a White House occasion on web entry. “This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the highly effective Wagner Group and previously a key determine within the highest degree of army circles in Moscow, launched an armed riot aimed toward toppling the management of Russia’s embattled Defense Ministry.
Their forces marched into Rostov-on-Don, a significant metropolis, however referred to as off plans to march on Moscow after reaching an amnesty deal that will ship Mr. Prigozhin to Belarus. While Mr. Putin averted a direct coup, the episode pierced the veil of absolute energy across the longtime Russian chief as he wages struggle on Ukraine.
“We’re going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend’s events and the implications for Russia and Ukraine,” Mr. Biden stated. “It’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going.”
Mr. Biden stated he spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to affirm that it doesn’t matter what occurs in Russia, the U.S. will proceed to help its protection towards invading Russian forces.
The president stated he would stay in fixed contact with allies because the scenario unfolds.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby stated the U.S. additionally used diplomatic channels to let Moscow realize it thought-about the Wagner revolt an “internal Russian matter.”
He declined to say whether or not the U.S. thought-about it to be an tried coup or mutiny — or if it deserved another label.
“We’re not slapping a bumper sticker on it,” Mr. Kirby stated.
It is unclear the place Wagner goes from right here, Mr. Kirby stated, and he stated he doesn’t know the precise location of Mr. Prigozhin.
“What we’ve got to do is not get distracted by that and make sure that we’re focused on supporting Ukraine,” Mr. Kirby stated.
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