President Joe Biden on Monday said a brief uprising by the paramilitary Wagner Group against the Kremlin was part of a struggle within the Russian system, and the US and its allies were not involved in it.
“We made clear we were not involved, we had nothing to do with this,” Mr Biden said in his first comments on the uprising by the mercenary group.
Mr Biden's message that the West was not involved was sent directly to the Russians through various diplomatic channels, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
He did not describe Russia's response.
At a White House event, Mr Biden addressed the power struggle that erupted at the weekend when the mutineers barrelled towards Moscow, only to stop before reaching the capital.
Mr Biden said he had directed his national security team to update him on the situation “hour by hour” and to prepare for a range of scenarios, which he did not detail.
Russian intelligence services were investigating whether western spy agencies played a role in the aborted mutiny, the Tass news agency quoted Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov as saying on Monday.
“We could all spare Mr Lavrov the effort by just making it clear that there was no US involvement whatsoever, no western involvement,” Mr Kirby said.
Mr Biden said he and his team would continue assessing the fallout from the incident.
“It's still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going,” he added, stressing that his message to allies was “it's important that we stay completely co-ordinated”.
Mr Kirby said the US does not know the parameters of the deal reached between Mr Putin and Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin that ended the uprising.
State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, meanwhile, described the situation in Russia as “dynamic”.
“It is certainly a new thing to see President [Vladimir] Putin’s leadership directly challenged,” Mr Miller said.
“It’s a new thing to see Prigozhin directly questioning the rationale for this war and calling out that the war has been conducted essentially based on a lie.”
Washington contacted Moscow during Saturday’s events to reiterate that it viewed the crisis as an internal Russian affair “in which the United States is not involved and will not be involved,” Mr Miller added.
Wagner forces aim to topple Moscow's military leadership – in pictures
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Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
A new relationship with the old country
Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates
The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.
ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.
ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.
ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.
DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.
Signed
Geoffrey Arthur Sheikh Zayed
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
