Sunak has also spoken to US President Biden, French President Macron and German Chancellor Scholz about the situation…reports Asian Lite News
Rishi Sunak has urged all sides in Russia to “be responsible and to protect civilians”, as mercenaries from the Wagner group seize military sites from Russia and Vladimir Putin vows to “punish” those involved in the move against his government.
In the UK, a meeting of the emergency committee, Cobra, was chaired by Foreign Secretary James Cleverly on Saturday afternoon.
We don’t get to hear much about what is said in those meetings, but the government says Cleverly received all the latest information and particular attention was paid to the situation of British nationals still in Russia.
Sunak has also spoken to US President Biden, French President Macron and German Chancellor Scholz about the situation.
Sunak suggested the government has been watching the internal threats to Vladimir Putin for some time. “We have been monitoring for a while the potentially destabilising impacts of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine,” Sunak said.
Wagner group agrees to end insurrection
After Wagner mercenary force chief Yevgeny Prigozhin decided to halt his forces’ march to Moscow under deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, Kremlin spokesperson on Saturday said the charges against the Wagner leader who led armed mutiny against the country’s military leadership would be dropped, The New York Times reported
The Kremlin spokesman Dmitri S Peskov said Prigozhin will go to Belarus, and the fighters who rebelled with him would not be prosecuted by law given their “service at the front.” “Wagner fighters who did not participate in the mutiny can sign contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense,” New York Times quoted Peskov as saying.
This comes shortly after the Belarusian president stated he was in talks with Prigozhin about an agreement to “de-escalate tensions.”
Taking to Twitter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus wrote, “At 9 p.m. tonight, the Presidents spoke again by phone. The President of Belarus Lukashenko informed the President of Russia about the results of negotiations w/ the leader of the Wagner Group. President Putin thanked his counterpart for the work done.”
According to several videos circulating on social media, Wagner’s armoured vehicles started departing the military centre of Rostov-on-Don in southwest Russia on Saturday night.
However, Prighozin did not mention about it earlier whether his forces were backtracking from the southern city of Rostov-on-Don as well, where critical military and civilian buildings were seized.
Wagner chief to move to Belarus
Meanwhile, Wagner mercenary force chief Yevgeny Prigozhin will move to Belarus under a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko to end an armed mutiny that Prigozhin had led against Russia’s military leadership, Al Jazeera reported on Saturday, quoting the Kremlin.
“Lukashenko had offered to mediate, with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s agreement because he had known Prigozhin personally for around 20 years,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday, according to Al Jazeera. Prigozhin said he has ordered his forces, who had been advancing on Moscow, to turn around and return to their bases to avoid bloodshed, it said.
Earlier, authorities in Moscow and the surrounding area said they had declared a “counterterrorism” state of emergency after Prigozhin claimed his forces were in control of military sites in Rostov, Al Jazeera reported.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus tweeted, “At 9 p.m. tonight, the Presidents spoke again by phone. The President of #Belarus #Lukashenko informed the President of Russia about the results of negotiations w/ the leader of the Wagner Group. President Putin thanked his counterpart for the work done.”
Earlier in the day, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin in a televised address to the nation said that the “armed mutiny” by the Wagner Group is a “stab in the back” and vowed to punish those who were on the “path of treason” or anyone who takes up arms against the Russian military.
Prigozhin, the alleged head of the Wagner mercenary group, in a series of recordings released on social media on Saturday, announced that his troops had taken control of military facilities in two Russian cities.
Wagner on Saturday claimed to have taken control of Russian military facilities in Voronezh, including the airfield in Rostov-on-Don.
US to stay ‘in close coordination’ with allies
Meanwhile, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with the Foreign Ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the EU, saying they will stay ‘in close coordination’ amid the Russia crisis.
In a statement, a State Department spokesperson on Saturday said, “Secretary Blinken spoke today with Foreign Ministers from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy to discuss the ongoing situation in Russia.” “Secretary Blinken reiterated that support by the United States for Ukraine will not change. The United States will stay in close coordination with Allies and partners as the situation continues to develop,” she added.
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