President Joe Biden responded firmly on Monday to suggestions that the West or its military allies had any role in the failed uprising in Russia, asserting that Russian President Vladimir Putin
has "no excuse" to shift blame onto the West.
As the crisis unfolded over the weekend, Biden revealed that he held virtual meetings with U.S. allies to discuss a coordinated approach. The consensus was clear: they aimed to prevent Putin from using the situation to accuse the West or NATO. Biden emphasized that the U.S. and its allies were not involved and had no connection to the events, emphasizing that it was an internal struggle within the Russian system.
On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated on RT television that Russian security services were investigating the possibility of Western involvement in the brief revolt led by Yevgeny Prigozhin's Wagner mercenary group. However, Lavrov presented no evidence to support these claims.
The Wagner paramilitary group has previously fought alongside Russia's regular army in Ukraine. On Saturday, Prigozhin stated that his fighters were en route to Moscow but abruptly changed course, citing an agreement brokered by the leader of Belarus to avoid bloodshed in Russia.
In his first public remarks regarding the Russia situation, Biden noted that it was still too early to determine the full impact of the attempted coup. He stated that ongoing assessments would be made to gauge the consequences for both Russia and Ukraine. Biden also mentioned that he would be holding a second conversation with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy soon. During their weekend call, Biden assured Zelenskyy of continued U.S. support for Ukraine's defense and sovereignty, irrespective of the events unfolding in Russia.
When the chaos initially erupted, Biden immediately directed his national security team to provide constant updates and prepare for various scenarios. However, he did not disclose the specifics of their assessments during his Monday remarks. Photo by Quistnix, Wikimedia commons.