Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrial powers conferred Saturday on the situation in Russia after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an armed rebellion. The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke on the phone with the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and “informed his counterparts of the situation.” Putin also spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Associated Press has the story:
G-7 FM conferred; Putin spoke to several allies
Newslooks- (AP)
Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven major industrial powers conferred Saturday on the situation in Russia after mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin launched an armed rebellion.
The U.S. State Department and German Foreign Ministry gave few details of the discussion, which also included the European Union’s foreign policy chief.
The State Department said Secretary of State Antony Blinken “reiterated that support by the United States for Ukraine will not change.” It said that the U.S. “will stay in close coordination” with allies and partners as the situation develops.
The G7 comprises the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Canada and the U.K.
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The Kremlin says Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to several foreign leaders on Saturday following the armed rebellion by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin spoke on the phone with the leaders of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and “informed his counterparts of the situation.”
Putin also spoke with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A Kremlin statement said the Russian leader informed Erdogan “about the situation in the country related to an attempted armed rebellion,” and the Turkish president “expressed full support for the steps of the Russian leadership.”
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Mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin claims that his troops entered the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don without a single shot and says that no one was killed during what he calls a “march of justice.”
Prigozhin said in a new audio statement on Saturday that “we didn’t touch a single conscript, we didn’t kill a single person on our way.” He added that the Russian air force targeted his troops, but they still managed to seize military headquarters in Rostov “without a single gunshot.”
His claims could not be independently verified. The Russian authorities haven’t reported any casualties so far, either.
Shortly before Prigozhin released his statement, an explosion was heard near the military headquarters his Wagner group apparently controls in Rostov. It was not immediately clear where the explosion occurred, how big it was and whether it caused any damage.
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Estonia and Latvian officials say their countries have stepped up border security following an armed rebellion in neighboring Russia by mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Both nations are NATO members and strong backers of Ukraine, and have tense relations with Russia. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wrote on Twitter that Estonia is “closely following” developments and exchanging information with allies.
She wrote: “I can assure that there is no direct threat to our country. Border security has been strengthened.”
Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics of neighboring Latvia wrote in an English-language Twitter post that his country’s border security also has been strengthened and “visa or border entry from Russians leaving Russia due to current events won’t be considered.”
He said there is “no direct threat to Latvia at this time.”
