The head of Russian diplomacy referred to the events that occurred last weekend with the Wagner mercenary group, which tried to mutiny against the Kremlin, and warned that Moscow is better after facing the crisis. In addition, he expressed that his country does not have to give the West guarantees on nuclear stability and, on the other hand, accused them of wanting to buy time to send weapons to Ukraine.
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This Friday, June 30, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, offered a press conference where he highlighted positive aspects for his government a week after the uprising carried out by the Wagner mercenary group.
The senior diplomat stressed that Moscow will be strengthened after the crisis caused by the failed rebellion. “Russia has always come out of any problem stronger and it’s hard to call this anything more than a problem,” he said.
This statement by one of the most powerful men in the Kremlin responds to the assumptions of analysts and figures from the international community who said that it was the moment of greatest instability in the Government of Vladimir Putin.
In addition, Lavrov said that, given the West’s fears about Russia’s nuclear stability, they have no reason to explain themselves. “Thank you very much for worrying about our national interests, but it is not necessary,” he ironized.
![In this photo taken from video released by Prigozhin Press Service, Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the military company Wagner Group, records his speeches on video in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, Saturday, June 24, 2023. The owner of the private military contractor Wagner, who called for an armed rebellion aimed at overthrowing Russia's defense minister, has confirmed in a video that he and his troops have arrived in Rostov-on-Don. (Prigozhin press service via AP)](https://s.france24.com/media/display/a310ceba-15fe-11ee-908d-005056a90321/w:980/p:16x9/m:{"brand":"FRANCE24","lang":"ES","program":"","cartouche":"RUSIA","hash":"18e59790bf3e365d59cb1cbe15bf646c193c99c7477d66c577ef7a92507209b1","title":"Mot%C3%ADn%20del%20Grupo%20Wagner%20%250Adesafia%20la%20imagen%20de%20Putin","id":"5535ce5c-cd7e-11ed-854c-005056bf30b7"}/ap23175651626813%20%281%29.webp)
Regarding the ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine, the minister accused Western countries of wanting to “freeze” the conflict momentarily, seeking to buy time to equip Kiev with more weapons.
Lavrov repeated that Russia never deliberately attacked civilian institutions and claimed that Ukraine uses buildings such as schools to store military weapons.
Wagner’s ties to Africa
The Russian diplomat also spoke about the situation in Africa, a continent in which Russia has gained influence in recent years and where countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso have requested Wagner’s assistance for their internal conflicts.
Lavrov insisted that the presence of the mercenary group will depend exclusively on the decisions that these states make based on the express agreements they have with Wagner.
“The governments of these countries are going to decide if they are interested in continuing this form of cooperation aimed at guaranteeing the security of the organs of power,” he stressed.
Regarding Moscow’s ties with the African continent, he mentioned the case of the Central African Republic, with whom technical-military cooperation has increased, installing instructors to prepare officers.
Lastly, Lavrov accused the West of pressuring African nations not to attend the summit with Russia to be held on July 27-27 in St. Petersburg. The senior official pointed out that they are being “blatantly” subjected to cancel the trip or reduce their participation.
“I have been in Africa a lot in the last two years, my colleagues tell me what kind of pressure they have to put up with: absolutely arrogant, shameless and no-nonsense,” he concluded.
With EFE and Reuters
