Secretary of State Antony Blinken holds crisis talks with America’s closest allies and says the US is working “in close coordination” with the G7 and EU in the face of armed rebellion in Russia

• Senior US diplomat Antony Blinken spoke to G7 and EU counterparts on Saturday
• He promised to “remain in close coordination with the Allies” as the crisis in Russia unfolded
• Russia’s Wagner mercenaries launched an armed uprising against Vladimir Putin

By Keith Griffith for and Wires

Published: 2:57 PM, June 24, 2023 | Updated: 3:59 PM, June 24, 2023

The top US diplomat has been holding crisis talks with America’s closest allies as the private mercenaries of Russia’s Wagner Group launched an armed insurgency against the country’s leader Vladimir Putin.

Foreign Minister Antony Blinken was holding a phone call with his G7 and EU counterparts on Saturday morning as Wagner militants seized control of some military installations in southern Russia and advanced towards Moscow.

“The United States will remain in close coordination with allies and partners as the situation evolves,” Blinken wrote on Twitter.

Blinken spoke to all of his G7 counterparts from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United Kingdom, as well as the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the State Department said.

The diplomats discussed “the current situation in Russia,” according to a State Department press release confirming the call.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (above) said Saturday he spoke to his G7 and EU counterparts after Wagner militants seized control of some military installations in southern Russia

Overnight on Friday, Wagner mercenary troops reportedly advanced from Rostov-on-Don to Voronezh while moving rapidly along the M4 highway towards Russia’s capital Moscow

“Secretary of State Blinken reiterated that United States support for Ukraine will not change,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a press release.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin said Putin spoke to leaders of Russia’s close allies on Saturday following the armed uprising by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had phoned the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and “updated his counterparts about the situation.”

Putin also spoke to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Turkey is a NATO member but maintains ties with Russia, including through agreements to purchase military equipment from Moscow.

A Kremlin statement said Putin had briefed Erdogan “on the situation in the country related to an attempted armed uprising” and that the Turkish president had “expressed his full support for the steps taken by the Russian leadership.”

The Wagner forces are led by Wagner Group owner Prigozhin, who on Friday called for an armed uprising to overthrow Putin’s Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

Although the situation on the ground in Russia remained very uncertain and uncertain, there were signs that Wagner troops were rapidly advancing on Moscow on Saturday night.

The Wagner forces are led by Wagner Group owner Yevgeny Prigozhin, who on Friday called for an armed uprising to overthrow Putin’s defense minister

A military convoy of private Wagner mercenaries drove near Voronezh on Saturday along the M-4 highway connecting the capital Moscow with Russia’s southern cities

Armored vehicles were spotted on the M4 highway on the outskirts of Moscow on Saturday

An oil depot in the Voronezh region is on fire. It was reportedly “attacked by a pro-Putin attack helicopter” to prevent Wagner fighters from seizing the fuel while the mercenaries advanced

The governor of Russia’s Lipetsk province said on Saturday that the mercenary group had entered the region.

The Lipetsk region is about 225 miles south of Moscow and much closer to the capital than Rostov-on-Don, where Wagner troops showed up Friday night.

The authorities “are taking all necessary measures to ensure the safety of the population.” “The situation is under control,” Governor Igor Artamonov said in the Telegram. He did not provide any further information about Wagner’s presence.

In a sign of how seriously the Kremlin took Prigozhin’s threat, riot police and the National Guard scrambled to tighten security of key facilities in Moscow, including government agencies and transport infrastructure, Russian state media reported.

The story develops, others follow.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – Beijing and parts of northern China are experiencing record temperatures and authorities are urging people to limit their time outdoors.

The Nanjiao Observatory in southern Beijing recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius for the first time for a third straight day on Saturday, according to the China Meteorological Administration.

In nearby Hebei Province and the port city of Tianjin, temperatures have also soared to over 40C in recent days, prompting authorities to issue “red” alerts during extreme weather conditions.

In China’s four-tier weather alert system, red color indicates the worst conditions.

On Thursday, Beijing experienced its second warmest day on record – temperatures rose to 41.1°C (106°F). It was also the highest temperature ever recorded in China’s capital in June.

Beijing’s all-time high of 41.9 °C (107 °F) since modern records began was reached on July 24, 1999.

Chinese meteorologists say the current heat wave was caused by warm air masses associated with high pressure ridges in the atmosphere, compounded by thin cloud cover and long daylight hours around the summer solstice.

Other countries in Asia have been experiencing deadly heatwaves in recent weeks, which scientists say are being made worse by rising global temperatures caused in part by burning fossil fuels.

In China, the heatwave coincided with a three-day holiday, the Dragon Boat Festival, which features rice dumplings and racing boats powered by paddler teams.

Beijing weather authorities urged residents not to exercise outdoors for long periods of time and to take measures to protect themselves from the sun.

Temperatures in the capital are expected to drop to around 34°C (93°F) on Monday before rising again later next week.

First, the air combat system of the future [SCAF] was to be the subject of a collaboration involving only France and Germany. In 2019, this program was then opened to Spain on the basis of a fair division of tasks between the three now associated countries.

However, this did benefit Airbus Defense & Space in some ways when it came to the development of the new generation aircraft [New Generation Fighter – NGF]This enabled the European group to claim two-thirds of the workload against Dassault Aviation, which was nonetheless appointed prime contractor. Hence the tough negotiations between the industrialists about phase 1B of the project. After finally reaching an agreement, it was officially launched on April 28th.

But no sooner had work begun than Belgium was invited to join the SCAF, albeit with observer status. And the Belgian aviation industry has high hopes for this decision.

“The contract to purchase F-16 aircraft has had a huge impact on the sector over several decades” and I think we can achieve the same economic benefits with the SCAF. […] In any case, this is the goal we must have for Belgium,” argued Stéphane Burton, CEO of the Orizio Group, which includes Sabca and Sabena Engineering.

However, Dassault Aviation CEO Éric Trappier made no secret of his reservations about Belgium’s possible participation in the SCAF program at a Senate hearing in late May.

“I think we have to stick to our commitments, which is not easy anyway. We have to do phase 1B in threes. I hope that we will proceed to phase 2, which will allow the future aircraft to always be flown in threes. If we want to expand cooperation, the talks will last longer. I remind you that we French represent only a third of this project. I’m afraid that taking another step will result in the loss of useful skills,” explained Mr. Trappier.

And he emphasized: “If we were to reopen the possibility of a new cooperation too quickly to give Belgian companies work, I would fight to present my point of view, even if the state can of course always enforce its own.”

And the State has therefore presented its point of view… “Belgium’s participation as an observer will reinforce the European dimension of the SCAF programme.” , also welcomed the Ministry of Defense.

Noting this decision, Mr. Trappier reminded BFMTV that the collaboration is based on the principle of “fair industrial returns”. [les pays impliqués reçoivent une part de travail proportionnelle à leurs commandes] do not make it possible to produce the “best devices”. The case of the Eurofighter Typhoon is an example…

Nonetheless, many are pleased with Belgium’s participation in the SCAF programme. However, space still needs to be made for it. And Spain has already marked its borders through the voice of Amparo Valcarce, its defense minister.

“For the time being, we only accepted Belgium as an observer. “This is very important as it strengthens the SCAF program,” Ms. Valcarce said first in a statement reported by InfoDefensa during the Le Bourget international aerospace show.

And with “an investment of 2.5 billion euros” and the creation of “1200 jobs in Spain”, the SCAF will “have an impact on the Spanish economy equivalent to that of the Eurofighter in 1990”, continued Mrs. Valcarce. She also argued, “We need to be able to ensure that this program serves the economy and creates quality jobs.”

Regarding the question of what the arrival of Belgium would mean, the Spanish foreign minister was inflexible: reducing its participation in the program was out of the question for Madrid. “Right now, I’m strongly defending our industry’s 33 percent ownership,” she said.

Unless Spain intends to reduce its stake in SCAF, it will be difficult for France and Germany to make any concessions other than handing over the keys to Madrid. One solution would be to expand the project to other capacities. But that would increase the bill. In any case, this promises new lively discussions between the participants of this program …

Sudan remains an abyss of chaos and violence. Information from Khartoum speaks of artillery shelling and bombing, which began immediately after the end of the ceasefire between the armed forces and paramilitary militias. A scenario that has been repeated since the beginning of the civil war: brief truces that end in new bloodshed and are then reactivated for only a few days. Phases where the civil war actually continues, with the exchange of allegations about those who take advantage of the cessation of fighting to prepare for the next breach and commit atrocities against civilians. As in any war, these are the real casualties.

The BBC has highlighted the tragedy of rapes, which have increased exponentially during the conflict and are aimed at abandoned mothers but mostly at girls, often minors. This phenomenon particularly affects the capital, where there are violent clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese army. The difficult situation in Khartoum is also confirmed by the attacks reported by some African states on their own embassies, which were looted. Again, it is difficult to understand responsibility for these acts, such as whether they are the work of paramilitaries or army units.

The anarchy that reigns in the land makes it impossible to understand how the opposing factions behave. In addition, the health situation is worrying and there is a risk that international organizations and food aid programs will be permanently shut down if proper security conditions are not in place. This is also testified to by the alert launched by Action Against Hunger in the last few days, according to which at least 50,000 malnourished children are no longer receiving any specific treatment. The United Nations announced after the meeting in support of humanitarian aid in Sudan that donors had agreed on a $1.5 billion relief plan. But the prevailing anarchy in the country threatens to block most of the projects.

The only hope lies with those countries that are able to influence the parties involved to find the tools to ensure the stabilization of the rebels and the army. The United Arab Emirates and the Gulf powers, which are influential in Sudan and throughout the region, could play a leading role, as Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said. Meanwhile, violence, poverty and the lack of prospects for peace inevitably increase the flow of people fleeing. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said some 500,000 people had fled the country, with two million internally displaced people alone. These are enormous numbers that show us the seriousness of the situation in Sudan, but also the risks for the neighboring countries, which are becoming the first destination for the war refugees. In Egypt, the latest data speak of 250,000 Sudanese refugees already in the country. The European Union has announced aid of 20 million euros to Cairo.

And meanwhile, the case of the visas Egyptian authorities need to enter the country has exploded: many refugees have indeed fled without the documents needed to obtain passports, with the risk of families being separated at the border. The situation is also difficult in Chad and the Central African Republic, where the already very difficult economic and political situation in which these states live – just think that the Wagner Group has a permanent presence in the latter – is compounded by the arrival of thousands added are people and those of the rainy season. A problem that, as Médecins Sans Frontières explains, mainly concerns the logistical difficulties of accessing relief supplies. The scenario of the collapse of several states and the arrival of a new wave of migration to Europe, including via Libya, threatens to become more and more concrete.

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