President Biden addressed the Wagner Group's revolt against Russian President Vladimir Putin's regime for the first time on Monday, saying the top priority for the U.S. and NATO was to establish that they had "nothing to do with it.
Biden says he asked for hour-by-updates on the situation throughout the weekend, in addition to holding virtual meetings with key allies. He clarified that the U.S. is still assessing the fallout from the weekend's events and went on to affirm that the U.S. is continuing its full support for Ukraine,
"They agreed with me that we had to make sure…we gave Putin no excuse to blame this on the West, to blame this on NATO. We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it. This was part of a struggle within Russian system," Biden said.
"I also talked at length with President [Volodymyr] Zelenskyy of Ukraine. We'll be keeping in contact with him and maybe speaking to him later today," Biden continued. "I told him that no matter what happened in Russia, we the United States will continue to support Ukraine's defense and its sovereignty and its territorial integrity."
Biden made the statement prior to his remarks at an Investing in America event on Monday alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.
His statement echoed words from Secretary of State Tony Blinken, who emphasized throughout the weekend that the U.S. had no part to play in the Wagner Group's revolt against Russia.
WAGNER GROUP: WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT RUSSIAN MERCENARY GROUP IN UKRAINE
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin resurfaced earlier Monday with a statement saying he regretted the conflict with Russian forces, but said they had fired on Wagner first.
"We started our march due to injustice. We showed no aggression, but we were hit by missiles and helicopters. This was the trigger," the warlord said in the recording.
"We showed a master-class on how Feb. 24, 2022 had to look. We turned around to avoid spilling the blood of Russian soldiers. We regret that we had to hit Russian aviation," he added.
WHAT DOES PUTIN'S STANDOFF WITH WAGNER MERCENARY GROUP MEAN FOR RUSSIA?
Prigozhin halted his mercenaries' advance on Saturday after Belarus held negotiations between the two sides. The Kremlin said it made a deal in which the mercenary chief will move to Belarus and he and his soldiers will receive an amnesty.
Prigozhin's statement offered no clues as to his current whereabouts, and it is not clear whether he has traveled to Belarus.
"The aim of the march was to avoid the destruction of Wagner," he said Monday, according to Reuters.
