The Diplomat
The Spanish government has kept a close eye on what is happening inside Russia over the last few hours in the face of the advance of the Wagner group mercenaries towards Moscow, which they finally decided to halt yesterday afternoon, according to government sources.
The Spanish authorities followed what was happening in the Russian Federation “very closely” throughout the day and remained in contact with the leaders of the European Union, who in turn are holding talks with the leaders of the G7: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy and Japan, the latter country currently holding the presidency of the group.
The EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said on his Twitter account that he had spoken by telephone with the G7 foreign ministers, adding that he is coordinating within the European Union to address the situation.
Borrell also said he has activated the EU’s “crisis response centre” ahead of the EU Foreign Affairs Council on Monday. He insisted that the European Union’s support for Ukraine “remains unwavering”.
For his part, the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, confirmed the conversation with Borrell and assured that “the United States will remain in close coordination with allies and partners as the situation continues to develop”.
Russia declared a state of alert following Friday night’s rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group led by its leader, Yevgeni Prigozhin, which seized the Russian city of Rostov, headquarters of the Russian military command for the south, and advanced towards the Russian capital. The operation, dubbed the March of Justice, was ordered by Prigozhin after he claimed that many of his mercenaries had been killed in an attack by the Russian army itself, something the Russian defence ministry denies.
By mid-afternoon yesterday, Yevgeni Prigozhin announced the halt to the advance of his military columns towards Moscow following the mediation of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who had spoken to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the morning to try to defuse the situation.
Lukashenko spoke with Prigozhin and according to the official Belarusian news agency, BelTA, ‘the result was that they agree that it is inadmissible to unleash a bloody massacre on the territory of Russia’ and therefore ‘Prigozhin has accepted the proposal’, with guarantees of security for Wagner’s fighters.
The Kremlin announced in the evening that Yevgeni Prigozhin will leave for Belarus, that no criminal charges will be brought against any Wagner members and that the charges brought against their leader will be dropped.
