WASHINGTON: The White House on Tuesday came close to declaring that Moscow was responsible for the death of Wagner group head Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was believed to have been killed in a plane crash last week, Western media reported.
In a statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed “They all know that the Kremlin has a long history of killing opponents”. Karine Jean-Pierre added, “It is very clear what occurred here.”
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Her statement was the closest Washington comment yet over the development. Wagner group chief was killed last week in plane crash in Moscow.
Earlier, US President Joe Biden told media persons last week that Washington was working to reach a conclusion on how the accident happened. “We are trying to nail (it) down exactly,” the President said on Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin asked Wagner men to ink an oath of allegiance to Russia after a plane crash believed to have killed Yevgeny Prigozhin. The Russian President signed the ruling bringing in the change with immediate effect following Moscow said that Western suggestions that Wagner’s chief was killed on its orders were a “complete lie.”
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Since the crash reported many Western nations and Moscow critics have speculated the Wagner boss could have been assassinated. However, the Kremlin termed the incident “tragic” and also rejected speculations of likely foul play as a “total lie”.
Russian authorities said they had also opened an investigation into violations of air traffic regulations but have been silent regarding what may have caused the crash.
