Joe Biden warns Wagner leader Prigozhin he may have been POISONED
The Russian mercenary who threatened to overthrow Vladimir Putin in a botched mutiny could have been poisoned, Joe Biden said Wednesday.
The 80-year-old commander-in-chief said the US has no idea where Yevgeny Prigozhin is.
The former hospitality entrepreneur, once dubbed Putin’s chef because of his lucrative contract with the Kremlin, broke off his march on Moscow after briefly claiming to have captured the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
Biden suggested Wagner boss could have been poisoned but said US has no idea of his whereabouts
Yevgeny Prigozhin, dubbed Putin’s chef for the lucrative catering contracts he landed the Kremlin, has not been seen on social media in weeks since his failed march on Moscow
Biden was asked about the return of Russian military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov amid close scrutiny of how Putin will respond to the threat against his leadership and top commanders.
“Only God knows what he’s going to do,” Biden said. “We’re not even sure where he is and what relationship he has,” he said of Prigozhin, who made a deal for a refuge in Belarus but met with Putin there, according to the Kremlin.
“If I were him, I’d watch what I ate and watch the menu,” Biden said in his second dark humor of the press event.
In response to a question about Russian interference in US elections, he said, “They’re already interfering. That wouldn’t be anything new.”
It was as close as he came to referring to the Trump-Putin press here in 2018 where Trump accepted Putin’s denials for interfering in the 2016 election.
On fears that a weakened Putin could lash out with nuclear weapons, Biden said, “I don’t think there’s any real prospect. You never know if Putin uses nuclear weapons.’
Neither man mentioned Putin by name. The Finnish president called him ‘our neighbour’. Biden called him “the gentleman who takes a seat on the other side of the border in Moscow.”
Biden had drawn a stark contrast to his nemesis Donald Trump in Helsinki without having to mention his name by holding an event at the same venue where Trump appeared to side with Vladimir Putin.
Biden landed in Finalnd after addressing a cheering crowd in Vilnius, in a visit meant to welcome NATO’s newest member, whose move to the alliance was prompted last year by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Hours earlier, Biden said in a speech that he had strengthened the military alliance and shot Putin.
In Helsinki, which is only 700 miles from the Russian border, the same presidential palace with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö appeared where Trump met with Putin in 2018.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time, I don’t think NATO has ever been stronger,” he said at his first event of the day, a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto. “Together we stand for the shared democratic values that it’s all about,” he said, celebrating the fastest ratification by a member in NATO’s history.
“And together we stand with the brave people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s relentless onslaught,” Biden added.
It was during that infamous meeting that Trump appeared to side with Russia over US intelligence amid Putin’s denials of meddling in the 2016 election.
Biden said NATO ‘has never been stronger’ during a meeting with Finnish President Sauli Niinisto in the middle of Helsinki
Biden referred to Putin and spoke of his recent meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“You may remember I said to our friend… he wants the Finlandization of NATO, you get Finland’s NATO-building,” he said, months after Finland became the 31st member of the alliance.
It was in stark contrast to the way Trump talked about Putin amid his anger over the Russia investigation and election meddling.
“They said they think it’s Russia. I have President Putin, he just said it’s not Russia. I will say this, I don’t see any reason why it should be,” Trump said when asked who he believed.
“I have a lot of faith in my intelligence people. But I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today, and what he made is an incredible offer,” Trump added.
His explosive language came days after a dozen Russians were charged in special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
Trump’s own intelligence chief, former Republican Senator Dan Coats, was forced to issue a statement underlining that “we have been clear in our assessment of Russian interference in the 2016 election.”
Trump appeared to accept Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials of election interference during their 2018 appearance. The meeting took place four years after Russia invaded Crimea and four years before the massive invasion of Ukraine.
President Joe Biden’s visit to Helsinki contrasts with former President Donald Trump’s infamous 2018 visit
Biden received a thunderous applause from the Lithuanian public in the country’s capital, Vlinius
Biden will visit the presidential palace where Trump met Putin during the height of the Mueller investigation
Locals waved American and Ukrainian flags as they waited for the president to speak in Vilnius
The commander-in-chief made a veiled dig at his predecessor Donald Trump, lashing out at him for undermining Washington’s ties with its European allies.
It was at the same summit that Putin gave Trump a football that may have contained a transmitter chip.
With a war raging in Ukraine, Biden’s European trip gave him a chance to leave his re-election campaign behind and focus on transatlantic politics.
His speech in Vilnius included testimonials of unity and swipes at Putin, although the NATO summit opened with irate remarks from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky about not giving a timetable for his country’s invitation to join the alliance.
Biden also took a shrouded shot at Trump, who talked about withdrawing from NATO and harassed members for not following through on their pledges to spend 2 percent of their GDP on defense.
“As president, I’ve been so focused on rebuilding and revitalizing alliances, the cornerstone of American leadership in recent years,” Biden said at meetings Wednesday.
“Russia could end this war tomorrow by withdrawing its troops from Ukraine” and “ceasing its inhumane attacks on women and children,” the 80-year-old Biden boomed during his speech.
Unfortunately, Russia has so far shown no interest in the diplomatic outcome. Putin still mistakenly believes he can survive Ukraine. He can’t believe it’s their country, their country and their future and even after all this time Putin still doubts our endurance. He’s still making a bad guess.
“When Russian bombs started falling, we didn’t hesitate to act. We called on the world to support the brave people of Ukraine as they defend their freedom and sovereignty,” he added.
Trump continues to attack Biden on social media from afar, during a week in which he suffered a setback when the Justice Department announced it would no longer defend him in prosecutor E. Jean Carrol’s defamation case of rape. The slams have echoes of his outbursts about the Mueller probe as it relates to his campaign’s dealings with Russia.
Crooked Joe Biden’s targeted, armed DOJ and FBI pose a serious threat to our democracy! They are doing the DIRTY WORK of Crooked attacking and prosecuting “TRUMP”, and they are only doing that because I CRUSHED DeSanctimonious and Biden in the polls. This is planned election interference of the highest order and used to only happen in third world countries. Now, sadly and horribly, it is happening here in America and it must be stopped if our country is to survive. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.