Russian President Vladimir Putin Issues First Statement Since Aborted Mutiny

International

oi-Prakash KL

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday appeared in a Kremlin video address, speaking for the first time since the aborted mutiny of a mercenary chief this weekend, AFP reported.

In his first statement since an armed mutiny by the Wagner mercenary group, the Russian President congratulates participants of an industrial forum.

It was not immediately clear when or where Putin’s statement was recorded, according to a report in Reuters.

Earlier in the day, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu made his first public appearance since Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin demanded his ouster, inspecting troops in Ukraine Monday in a video released by his ministry.

He’s the first of three powerful Russian leaders whose diverging interests led to the Wagner Group occupying a Russian city and marching on the capital to be seen since the revolt ended on Saturday.

After much drama, Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) founder Yevgeny Prigozhin called off the rebellion against Russian military leadership, reached a deal with the Kremlin to go into exile and sounded the retreat.

The rebellion ended after Prigozhin ordered his troops back as the Kremlin said it had made a deal that the mercenary chief would move to Belarus and receive an amnesty, along with his soldiers. The mutiny marked the biggest challenge to President Vladimir Putin in more than 20 years of rule.

Although it was reported that Russia would Wagner chief, he is still under investigation despite the Kremlin deal, AFP reported citing Russian news agencies.

On the other hand, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken termed the weekend’s events in Russia as “extraordinary,” recalling that 16 months ago Putin appeared poised to seize the capital of Ukraine and now he has had to defend Moscow from forces led by his onetime protege. “I think we’ve seen more cracks emerge in the Russian façade,” Blinken said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

“It is too soon to tell exactly where they go and when they get there, but certainly we have all sorts of new questions that Putin is going to have to address in the weeks and months

Going by the reports, the bloodbath was avoided due to the mediation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists that the Belarusian President volunteered as he has been acquainted with Prigozhin for about 20 years.