Antony Blinken said that the rebellion of the Wagner group “raises profound questions”. (file)
Washington:
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Sunday that Russia’s crisis involving a mercenary group’s aborted rebellion against the Kremlin has exposed “real cracks” in President Vladimir Putin’s authority.
Antony Blinken said on the CBS news talk show “Face the Nation” that the weekend uprising by the private Wagner Group and its rebel leader Yevgeny Prigozhin is “a direct challenge to Putin’s authority”.
“So it raises serious questions, it shows real cracks,” the top US diplomat said.
The comments were the first public announcements by the United States about developments in Russia, which over the previous 24 hours had been engaged in intense consultations with European allies on the insurgency.
Antony Blinken said on several Sunday talk shows that it was “too early” to speculate about the impact of the crisis on the Kremlin or the war in Ukraine.
But he called it an “extraordinary” series of events in which a close ally of Vladimir Putin – who had sent his private mercenaries into Ukraine to wage the war’s most brutal battles – increasingly turned against Russia’s leader and threatened The very center of power in The Kremlin.
Whereas 16 months ago Russian forces were at Kiev’s “doors” and threatening to take over all of Ukraine, “now this weekend, they must defend Russia’s capital, Moscow, against Putin’s hand-picked mercenaries.” ,” Antony Blinken also told ABC’s news show “This Week.”
“Throughout this incident, Prigozhin has raised serious questions on the basis of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine in the first place and that Ukraine or NATO does not pose a threat to Russia, which is part of Putin’s story. “
President Putin accused Prigozhin of treason in a fiery speech on Saturday and vowed to punish the perpetrators, but then accepted an amnesty deal in which Wagner would avoid major prosecution and move to neighboring Belarus.
Mr Blinken said Moscow’s “distraction” over the insurgency creates “advantages” for Ukraine amid retaliatory strikes against Russian forces.
But of the Wagner crisis, he said, “We can’t predict or know exactly where it’s going to go.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV Staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)