WASHINGTON: The U.S. State Department on Monday said it was, surely, a new thing to see Russian President Putin’s leadership directly defied.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller told the media that It is also a new thing to see Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin directly challenging the rationale for this conflict. The spokesperson said that the situation in Russia remains active days following a sudden mutiny and said it does not have any evaluation regarding the whereabouts of the chief of Wagner.
Washington says it is new thing to see President Putin’s leadership directly defied
Washington had communications with Moscow on Saturday, both via U.S. Ambassador Lynne Tracy and at other levels. The US envoy told officials in Moscow that the US expects Russia to uphold its obligations to secure the embassy and diplomatic staff.
Matthew Miller said the events over the weekend reinforce the US’s concerns regarding the instability of the Wagner group. Wagner, operated by experts of the Russian armed forces, has fought in Syria, Libya, the Central African Republic, and Mali. It was set up in 2014 following Moscow annexed Ukraine’s Crimea peninsula and started backing pro-Russia separatists in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
Matthew Miller said the US does not know what will happen to the Wagner group in Ukraine and in Africa, but to the extent that the group continues to operate in Ukraine, Africa, or elsewhere, Washington will take actions to make them accountable.
