Mon 26 June 2023:
Sergei Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister, has moved to reassure allies in Africa that thousands of Wagner group fighters deployed to the continent will not be withdrawn after the mutiny led by their commander, Yevgeny Prigozhin, over the weekend.
In an interview with Russia Today, Lavrov pledged that “instructors” and “private military contractors” would remain in Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali, the two countries in sub-Saharan Africa where Wagner has the biggest presence.
Both are considered strategic prizes by the Kremlin, which sees them as a springboard to greater influence on the continent and a source of lucrative natural resources.
“At their request, several hundred servicemen are working in the CAR as instructors – this work, of course, will continue … Both the CAR and Mali appealed to the Wagner PMCs with a request to ensure the safety of their leadership,” Lavrov said. “Regarding the reports about who is panicking and about what, I did not see any panic. I did not see any changes in the relations of the relevant African countries with the Russian Federation.”
Wagner leader publishes 11 minute message about the mutiny
In his first public comments since withdrawing his troops, Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin said the weekend’s events had been intended to protest against Russian military commanders, not to overthrow the government.
Prigozhin spoke in an 11-minute audio message released on Telegram, where he added that his troops had not signed contracts with the defence ministry.
On Sunday, the Kremlin said Wagner troops could sign contracts with the ministry after returning to camps.
After a period of silence, Prigozhin made himself heard again via a long audio message.
A summary:
➡️The reason of our march was that Wagner would be disbanded on July 1st
➡️We started to protest to bring justice to those that made huge mistakes during this 'special operation'.… pic.twitter.com/uRUw3P6qKQ— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) June 26, 2023
Prigozhin still charged with mutiny by Russian authorities
Al Jazeera spoke to Daniel Hawkins, a journalist based in Moscow, who said that Yevgeny Prigozhin is still under investigation by Russian authorities for mutiny.
“Initially Putin said the charges will be dropped but that seems to be on the table again,” Hawkins said. “A lot will depend on the Kremlin’s response to his statement, and how that relationship will develop if there will be one at all.”
“[Prigozhin] said the whole incident was simply a demonstration of the weak spots of the Russian security forces, a demonstration of how – according to him – Russia’s so-called special military operation in Ukraine could have gone if given to the hands of the most professional fighting force in the world.”
But how exactly that would look like is hard to say, Hawkins said.
Troops ‘trained as Wagner’ could have ended Ukraine ‘special operation’ in a day: Prigozhin
In his first comments after Saturday’s rebellion, the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said that “if Russia’s actions in Ukraine last February were carried out by forces trained as Wagner, the special operation could have ended in one day.”
He also said that the Wagner “march” over the weekend, exposed serious security concerns across Russia.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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