MOSCOW

The US envoy to Russia contacted the diplomatic service amid reports of the Wagner Group mutiny over the weekend to say that Washington had nothing to do with it, said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Monday.

"When yesterday US Ambassador (to Russia) Lynne Tracy communicated with Russian representatives, (she) was transmitting signals. ... Their sense is that the US has nothing to do with it (the mutiny), that the US does hope that nuclear weapons will be in order, that American diplomats will not suffer," Lavrov told Russian TV channel RT.

He said Tracy particularly emphasized that Washington considers the situation with the Wagner Group to be Russia's "internal affair.”

Asked about the international reaction to the weekend’s dramatic developments, Lavrov said many world leaders called Russian President Vladimir Putin to express their support and solidarity.

He added that he himself had several phone calls with counterparts who expressed confidence in Russia’s ability to handle the rebellion.

On the reaction in the West, Lavrov said that when Western politicians speak of a “split” in the Russian government and army, this is “wishful thinking.”

“I got acquainted with how events in Russia were covered. In particular, (US TV channel) CNN reported that American intelligence had known about the upcoming mutiny for several days, but decided not to tell anyone about it. Apparently, in the hope that the rebellion would succeed,” he said.

Lavrov said his suspicions were strengthened by another report claiming Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin's campaign against Moscow was "expected to meet much more resistance and be much bloodier than it actually was," which also shows "what exactly was expected in the West."

“About these expectations of exactly this kind and sense, I mean the collapse of the Russian state, said representatives of the Ukrainian regime, including (President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy and his henchmen,” he said.

The reaction by French President Emmanuel Macron was also noticed in Moscow, Lavrov said, adding that Macron trying to justify military assistance to Ukraine show that he saw in the mutiny an opportunity “to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia.”

US waiver for sanctions against Wagner

Commenting on reports claiming the US authorities changed their intention to sanction the Wagner Group after it went against Russian authorities, Lavrov said this shows that Washington’s approach “depends on what it wants at this particular stage from a certain player.”

Lavrov said several years ago the Ukrainian neo-Nazi Azov squad was designated a “terrorist group” in the US, but now Azov has been “rehabilitated” in connection with the war in Ukraine, where it takes active part.

The top diplomat ruled out deterioration of relations with “friends and partners” due to the Wagner rebellion, and as for the rest, he said it "has no importance."

“The relations of the collective West with us have been destroyed on its initiative. There are none. One episode more, one less. I don't see much difference.

“Russian President Vladimir Putin has said more than once that when and if they come to their senses and turn to us with proposals on restoring relations in one form or another, then we will see what they will ask for and what was the role of each of the petitioners in unleashing a hybrid war against the Russian Federation,” he stressed.

Lavrov said Russian law enforcement is investigating possible involvement of foreign intelligence in Wagner’s actions, but declined further comment.

Lavrov also said that the US supported the 2014 coup in Ukraine, including through immediately recognizing the authorities that came to power, while the same year there was a coup in Yemen, which was not recognized, he added.

Wagner Group cooperation with African countries

Russian servicemen will continue to work in African countries, including in Mali and the Central African Republic following Wagner’s aborted rebellion, Lavrov said.

Commenting on reports alleging "panic spread to the entire African continent" after Saturday's events due to fears Wagner’s work in Africa would end, Lavrov urged checking the sources of these reports.

"If those messages about panic that allegedly spread to the CAR and the rest of Africa appeared on American portals, I urge to take into account for whom these portals work,” he stressed.

Lavrov said Mali and the Central African Republic officially asked the Wagner Group to ensure their security as European forces were withdrawing from the continent, “leaving Africans to face bandits.”

Lavrov pointed out that apart from relations with Wagner, the governments of the Central African Republic and Mali also have official contacts with Russia.

As their governments requested, he said, "several hundred (Russian) servicemen work in the Central African Republic as instructors, and this work will continue."

Lavrov then urged people to examine how a terrorist threat arose from the Central African Republic, Mali, and other countries of the Sahara-Sahel region.

According to him, “an open aggression” of France, NATO, and other countries against Libya led to the destruction of the country, which turned into “a giant black hole” through which “bandits of all stripes” went to the Sahara-Sahel region.

“As for the panic, I received several phone calls of solidarity, including many from African friends,” he said.

Preparation for a Russia-Africa summit is in full swing, with new, interesting points on the agenda, Lavrov added.

Lavrov calls Kyiv’s claims of alleged Russian plan to blow up nuclear plant ‘delusion’

Lavrov called “delusion” Kyiv’s claims Russia has plans to blow up the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

“The statement of the issue and the way of its presentation" show that people who spread such information “are trained, including for information warfare, primarily by the Anglo-Saxons, Poles, and even the Baltic peoples,” he said.

“If the result of this ‘training’ is so deplorable and unconvincing, then I am sorry for the money that Western taxpayers spend paying salaries to ‘teachers who train incapable and deranged students’,” he said.