Blinken called the events around PMC “Wagner” an internal affair of Russia

The events in Russia around PMC Wagner are an internal Russian affair, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on CNN.

“I don’t want to speculate about it. Firstly, this is an internal affair of Russia,” said Blinken (quote from RIA Novosti).

Thus, the Secretary of State answered the question whether, according to Washington, what happened in the Russian Federation could pose a threat to its authorities. TASS also writesthat Blinken answered a question about contacts between the two countries on the issue of ensuring nuclear safety. He said that he would not “go into the details of diplomatic communications” with Moscow, but in the United States, he said, he always monitors the situation in case of “instability in large states, especially those with nuclear weapons.”

Blinken added that the US and Russian nuclear positions have not changed as a result of the crisis.

On the evening of June 23, the head of the PMC, Yevgeny Prigozhin, announced a missile attack on one of the rear camps of a military company, blaming the Ministry of Defense for this. The military department said that reports of strikes are not true and are an “information provocation.” Then “Wagner” blockaded Rostov-on-Don and took control of the city’s military installations. The Investigation Department of the FSB of Russia opened a criminal case on the organization of an armed rebellion against Prigozhin.

On the evening of June 24, the Kremlin reported on the agreements reached with Prigogine. President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko held talks with him, Prigozhin agreed to take measures to de-escalate the situation. In particular, the founder of the PMC announced the return of fighters and equipment to field camps. It was decided to close the criminal case against the businessman.