The United States and its allies “have nothing to do with” the Wagner mercenary group’s uprising against President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and his military commander, President Biden said on Monday. , his first public comment on the brief uprising provoked an unusual Weekend of Crisis in Russia.
“This is part of the struggle in the Russian system,” Biden told reporters at the White House ahead of the announcement of the internet infrastructure initiative.
Mr. Biden said he has instructed the national security team to keep him informed “hour by hour” and “prepare for a range of scenarios.” He also said that he had convened a conference call to coordinate with several key US allies as the mutiny led by Wagner founder Yevgeny V. Prigozhin took place late in the day. week.
Mr. Biden said during the call, allies had agreed to Mr. Putin “there is no reason to blame this on the West or blame this on NATO”. He added, “We have made it clear that we are not involved. We have nothing to do with it.
Mr. Biden said he and President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, with whom he spoke on Sunday, will stay in touch. Mr. Biden said that the United States will continue to assess the consequences of the crisis in Russia and closely coordinate responses with its allies. However, he warned, “it is still too early to draw definitive conclusions as to where this will take place.”
Mr Prigozhin was last seen in public late on Saturday after stopping Wagner’s brief uprising. He agreed to halt the march of his forces to Moscow under an agreement that would stop the criminal investigation into his activities and allow him to travel to Belarus. On Monday, Mr. Prigozhin broke his silence to claim that his attack on Moscow was never aimed at seizing power.
In a separate news conference, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Monday that he did not know if Mr Prigozhin was in Belarus and that he had “no assessment” of his location. Mr. Prigozin. He added that the US did not know what would happen to Wagner fighters in Ukraine or Africa, calling the situation “dynamic”.
Even so, Mr. Miller said, the importance of Mr. Prigozhin’s power game is clear.
“It’s certainly refreshing to see President Putin’s leadership directly challenged,” he said, noting that Prigozhin had openly questioned the reasons for Russia’s aggression. Ukraine strategy, which “we certainly haven’t seen from Russian officials before.”
Mr. Miller added that the United States “does not assume the leadership role of the Russian Federation. We do not assume the leadership of the Russian Defense Ministry.”
“Our policy has always been to respect the actions that Russia has taken,” he said.
While Mr. Miller may have articulated official US policy, President Biden has previously expressed a different personal view.
“For God’s sake, this man cannot continue to be in power,” Mr. Biden talks about Mr. Putin during his visit to Poland in March 2022.
Miller also said US ambassador to Russia Lynne M. Tracy contacted the Russian government on Saturday, reminding Russian officials of their obligation to protect the US embassy and diplomatic staff in Moscow.
Mr. Miller said that Ms. Tracy had also reiterated assurances that the Biden administration views the uprising as an internal Russian affair, “an issue in which the United States has nothing to do with and will not participate in.”
