President Joe Biden said on Monday that neither Western nor NATO allies were involved in the short-lived uprising in Russia by the Wagner Group, and warned Russian President Vladimir Putin not to place the blame on them.
Biden said in his first public remarks about the coup attempt that when he spoke to allies on a zoom call this weekend, they all agreed that “we had to make sure we didn’t excuse Putin – we didn’t excuse Putin – For example, blame the West or blame it on NATO.’
“We made it clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it. This was part of a struggle within the Russian system,” Biden said during remarks in the East Room of the White House.
He noted that the situation in Russia remains “wait and see,” but noted that he asked his national security team to come up with a “series of scenarios” to respond if necessary.
Biden, who spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky this weekend, said he expects to speak with him again in the next day or two.
“The final outcome of all this remains to be seen, but whatever happens, I will continue to ensure that our allies and our partners are closely aligned in how we read and respond to the situation. It is important that we remain fully coordinated,” Biden said.
President Joe Biden said neither Western nor NATO allies were involved in the short-lived insurgency in Russia by the Wagner Group
Russia remains in turmoil after that Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led a failed armed uprising on Saturday evening.
Putin has not been seen in public, fueling uncertainty about his government.
In his initial remarks on his attempted coup against Putin, Prigozhin, who had been exiled to Belarus, claimed his march on Moscow was a “masterclass” on what Russia’s attack on Kiev should have looked like.
Prigozhin said in an 11-minute audio clip posted on Wagner-affiliated Telegram channels that he only called off his group’s attack on the Russian capital to avoid spilling Russian blood. the war in Ukraine, not to overthrow the government in Moscow.
He described his Wagner mercenaries as “perhaps the most experienced and most effective unit in Russia, possibly in the world,” and said his private military company had done “an enormous amount of work in the interest of Russia.”
And he claimed he had launched the uprising to “prevent the destruction of the Wagner group,” adding that they had been ordered to hand over their weapons to the Russian army and had also suffered casualties in air raids by the Russian air force.
The Wagner leader also confirmed that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko was instrumental in brokering a deal between the Kremlin and Prigozhin that would allow the latter to escape punishment for organizing the uprising.
In turn, Lukashenko is said to have sheltered Prigozhin in Minsk for his safety and amnesty for all Wagner troops who took part in the capture of the southern city of Rosotv-on-Don and marched on Moscow.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the military company Wagner Group, looks out from a military vehicle on a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023
Members of the Wagner Group prepare to depart from the headquarters of the Southern Military District on June 24, 2023 and return to their base in Rostov-on-Don, Russia
Prigozhin was last seen in public late on Saturday, smiling and shaking hands with supporters after ending his short rebellion and sending back his soldiers marching on Moscow.
Since then his whereabouts have been unknown.
The Kremlin said on Saturday that the agreement to end hostilities means that Russia will drop the case against Prigozhin.
However, several Russian media reported that a criminal investigation against Prigozhin is still ongoing, with some lawmakers calling for harsh sentences after Putin declared on Saturday that he would punish “the traitors who betray Russia.”
While Wagner’s armed uprising on Russian soil came as a surprise to most, Prigozhin’s hatred of the Russian military command has long been established.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not been seen since Saturday
Before the uprising, he had spent months insulting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Russian Army Chief General Valery Gerasimov, attacking them for not supplying his troops with sufficient ammunition during the battle for the Ukrainian war base town of Bakhmut . longest and bloodiest battle.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin claims that Putin is busy and at work. Russian officials said he had spoken with Qatar’s Mir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi to bolster their support.