Evgeny Prigozhin’s mutiny plays into the hands of Russia’s foreign enemies, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday
Servicemen of the Wagner Group military company talk to each other as they guard a street in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, June 24, 2023 © AP
Western nations must avoid the “use of the domestic Russian situation to achieve their Russophobic goals,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday. Any such attempts will prove futile, the ministry warned.
“The attempted armed rebellion that took place in our country causes a sharp rejection in Russian society, which resolutely supports the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin,” it stated.
“The adventuristic aspirations of the conspirators, in fact, are aimed at destabilizing the situation in Russia [and] destroying our unity,” the statement continued. “Thus, the rebellion plays into the hands of Russia’s external enemies.”
“We warn Western countries against any hint of possible use of the domestic Russian situation to achieve their Russophobic goals. Such attempts are futile and will not find a response either in Russia or among sane political forces abroad,” the ministry concluded.
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The rebellion began on Friday when Wagner Group leader Evgeny Prigozhin accused regular Russian forces of shelling one of his organization’s bases. Moscow rejected the accusation, but Prigozhin set off on a march to Moscow via the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, to confront senior Russian military officials he claims are corrupt.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Prigozhin of “calling for an armed rebellion” and opened a criminal investigation into the private military company boss. Putin described the mutiny as a “stab in the back” during a time of peril to Russia, and vowed to take “decisive actions” to restore order.
“Our country will continue its sovereign course to ensure its security, protect its values, strengthen its prestige in the international arena, and form a just multipolar world order,” the Foreign Ministry said.
