Russia owes West no explanation about Wagner mutiny – Lavrov
Russia has no obligation to reassure the West that the political situation in the country is stable in the aftermath of Wagner private military group uprising last week, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.
Speaking to reporters, Lavrov reiterated that “we are not obligated to explain anything to anyone, to give any assurances.” He stated that Russia “acts transparently,” adding that both President Vladimir Putin and other senior officials have commented on the Wagner mutiny.
“If anyone in the West has any doubts, well, that’s your problem,” the minister said.
Lavrov went on to say that Russia has always emerged stronger from the challenges it has had to overcome, while describing the mutiny as “nothing more than trouble.”
“The same thing will happen now. Moreover, we feel that this process has already begun.”
He also said Moscow has “serious doubts about the sanity of many Western leaders.” While publicly admitting that their citizens are suffering due to the Ukraine conflict, these leaders press on with their policies in the name of helping Kiev prevail over Moscow, the foreign minister explained. “Does this sound sane? Does this reflect national interests?”
Lavrov noted that amid the Wagner mutiny, many Western leaders claimed that the veneer of Russia’s statehood was crumbling. This reaction, combined with statements that arming Ukraine had paid off, basically amounted to a confession that the West is “waging war” against Russia, he said.
Last Friday, Wagner chief Evgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of launching a deadly missile strike on one of the group’s camps, vowing retaliation. The ministry denied the allegation.
In the following hours, Wagner troops occupied parts of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don, with elements of the group aiming to march on Moscow. On Saturday, Prigozhin halted the march in exchange for security guarantees as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the nation’s military and law enforcement agencies for essentially “stopping a civil war,” describing the revolt as “a betrayal of our people, of the brothers in arms who are fighting on the front line” in Ukraine.
