Any attempts by Western nations to “use the domestic Russian situation to achieve their Russophobic goals,” will prove futile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.
The warning came amid an attempted insurrection by the Wagner private military group (PMC), lead by Evgeny Prigozhin, which saw a convoy of PMC fighters occupy key buildings in the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and set out to reach Moscow.
“The attempted armed rebellion that took place in our country has sparked a sharp rejection in Russian society, which resolutely supports the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin,” the ministry statement read.
“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.
The rebellion began on Friday when 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 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.
The Foreign Ministry statement concluded that “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.”