Russian President Vladimir Putin’s first speech since the rebellion that almost ousted him from power on Saturday, has no mention of Wagner.
The Putin’s speech is his first statement since the Wagner group’s mutiny over the weekend, appearing in a Kremlin video addressing participants at an industrial forum.
Addressing people at a convention called the “Engineers of the future”, Putin praised companies for ensuring “the stable operation” of the country’s industry “in the face of severe external challenges”, according to quotes cited by AFP news agency.
It is unclear when or where Putin was when he recorded the statement. He made no mention of the deal in which Prigozhin agreed to stand down his troops and move to Belarus.
In another address on Saturday, Putin accused Wagner mercenaries of treason, and called their actions a “stab in the back.”
The images show the president seated at a desk, and when and where the sequence was filmed, we cannot tell. In his speech, he did not mention at any time the armed mutiny which shook Russia but evoked the “challenges” that the Russian industry faces because of Western sanctions.
President Vladimir Putin’s latest video message implies it’s business as usual for the Kremlin: he congratulates young engineers attending an industry forum.
The address is full of patriotic rhetoric. Putin praises “youngsters, experienced specialists, the collectives at our enterprises”, saying they have achieved production growth in the most important sectors for the country’s life – both civilian and military.
Interestingly, the industrial forum is taking place in Tula, a city south of Moscow which is traditionally an arms manufacturing centre. And Tula was on the route north to Moscow that Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner troops took at the weekend – though they turned back before occupying Tula.
Western Involvement In The Wagner Mutiny To Be Investigated
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says Russian authorities are investigating whether Western special services were involved in Wagner’s mutiny on Saturday, Tass news agency reports.
Lavrov also says the US ambassador to Moscow “gave signals” that their country was not involved, adding that what took place was a Russian internal affair.