Russia is able to deal on its own with the consequences of the aborted armed mutiny attempt by PMC Wagner Group's chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on June 24, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Friday.
"Russia has always come out of any tussle stronger. This will be the case this time. We feel that this process has begun … Thank you for your concern, but we will deal with it," Lavrov said at a briefing, commenting on the aborted mutiny.
The diplomat stressed that the armed mutiny attempt could be described as nothing more than a "tussle".
"Russia has always come out of any tussle, and this one can hardly be called anything noisier than a tussle," he noted.
Lavrov insisted that Russia does not owe any explanation to anyone regarding the attempted insurrection and its possible influence on developments in the country, the minister said, adding that Moscow acts transparently.
"Russia has always come out of any tussle — and this can hardly be called anything more than a tussle — even stronger," Lavrov stressed.
Armed Mutiny Attempt in Russia
In the early hours of June 24, Wagner forces took control of the headquarters of the Southern Military District in Russia's southern city of Rostov-on-Don. The attempted armed mutiny was stopped thanks to difficult negotiations, which were held in agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin between Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and Prigozhin on Saturday.
As a result, the Wagner chief agreed to relocate to Belarus, while Wagner troops who did not participate in the rebellion were offered to sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.
On Thursday, Russian lawmaker Andrey Kartapolov said that Prigozhin had failed to comply with the Russian Defense Ministry's decision on contracts, and had been informed even before the June 24 events that Wagner troops would not participate in the special military operation in Ukraine.