WASHINGTON, June 28 ------ The United States and its allies were not involved in a brief uprising against Russia's military command by mercenaries, President Joe Biden said Monday, as many countries keep close tabs on the potential implications of events over the weekend.
In his first public comments since the Wagner Group's revolt, Biden said he and key allies have agreed not to give Russian President Vladimir Putin any excuse to blame the development on the West or the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. "We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it," Biden said at the White House. "This was part of a struggle within the Russian system."
The president was careful in choosing his words about the insurrection, which amounted to the most serious threat to Putin in years, emphasizing that the impact it may have on Russia remains to be seen. "We're going to keep assessing the fallout of this weekend's events and the implications for Russia and Ukraine," he said. "But it's still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going." After leading the short-lived insurgency, the paramilitary group's founder Yevgeny Prigozhin suddenly announced late Saturday he was calling off the advance of its fighters toward Moscow to avert "bloodshed."
In an audio message released Monday, Prigozhin said the march was not intended to overturn power in Moscow, but was a demonstration of protest against Russia's "unprofessional" management of the war in Ukraine. Putin later in the day made a televised address to the nation and denounced those behind the march as "traitors," without referring to Prigozhin by name. Given the volatile circumstances, Biden vowed to make sure the United States and its allies are "closely aligned" in analyzing and responding to the situation. "It's important we stay completely coordinated," he said. He also said he spoke at length with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy so that they can continue to be "on the same page."
Biden said he told Zelensky that the United States will continue to support Ukraine's defense and sovereignty regardless of what happened in Russia, adding that the two agreed to stay in constant contact. Prigozhin is expected to relocate to Belarus under the terms of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, though U.S. officials said they cannot confirm the Wagner Group chief is in the country. "As we're speaking here right now, Ukrainian forces are still fighting for their country. They're still trying to claw back captured territory," White House national security spokesman John Kirby said at a press briefing. "So whatever occurred in Russia this past weekend did not change those facts."
Source: news.abs-cbn.com
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