Sergei Lavrov spoke about the role entrusted to Yevgeny Prigoyine’s men two days after their attempted uprising in Russia.
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Posted on 6/26/2023 4:23 PM Updated on 6/26/2023 4:46 PM
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The leader of the Wagner group, Evguéni Prigojine, surrounded by several of his men, in Rostov (Russia), on June 24, 2023. (WAGNER / ANADOLU AGENCY / AFP)
What will become of Wagner after his failed uprising attempt in Russia? The paramilitary group will continue to operate in Mali and the Central African Republic, the head of Russian diplomacy assured on Monday, June 26. Wagner members are working “as trainers” in these two countries and “this work will of course continue,” said Sergey Lavrov in an interview with the Russian broadcaster RT.
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The Russian minister said that Europe and France “after abandoning Central African Republic and Mali” turned to Russia and Wagner for military training and “to ensure the safety of their leaders”. For Westerners, Wagner is an instrument of Russian influence designed to advance Moscow’s interests and compete with those of Europeans.
Sergey Lavrov also believed that the armed uprising by Wagner’s leader Yevgeny Prigoyine and his men would not change Russia’s relations with its allies. “There were a lot of calls [de partenaires étrangers] to President Putin (…) to express words of support, he said. As for the others [pays], honestly, I don’t care. Relations with the West are destroyed, so one episode more or less…”
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