Stoltenberg called the situation with PMC Wagner “internal affair of Russia”

The events that took place with PMC Wagner are “Russia’s internal affair,” says NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.

“The events of the weekend are an internal affair of Russia,” the Secretary General said at a press conference in Vilnius (quote according to Reuters). According to him, this is a demonstration of a “big strategic mistake” that was made after the annexation of Crimea to Russia and the start of a military operation in Ukraine.

At a press conference, Stoltenberg traditionally announced NATO’s continued support for Ukraine.

June 25 similar statement did US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. Answering a question about whether what happened in the Russian Federation could pose a threat to the US authorities, he said that he “did not want to speculate about it” and stressed that this was an internal affair of Russia.

On the evening of June 23, the founder of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin announced a missile attack on one of the rear camps of a military company and blamed the army for this. The Ministry of Defense called these reports false and “information provocation.” After that, the PMC blocked Rostov-on-Don, where it took control of the military facilities of the city, and also announced the advance of the military towards Moscow.

The Investigation Department of the FSB of Russia opened a criminal case on the organization of an armed rebellion against Prigozhin. However, after the situation was resolved following negotiations with the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko, it was decided to stop the case against the founder of PMC Wagner.