© Portal. FILE PHOTO: Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends an Africa Day reception in Moscow, Russia. June 7, 2023. Portal/Evgenia Novozhenina/File
By Guy Faulconbridge
MOSCOW, June 30 (Portal) – Russia will emerge stronger from the failed Wagner Group mercenary mutiny, so the West need not worry about the stability of the world’s largest nuclear power, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Friday.
President Vladimir Putin this week thanked the military and security forces for averting what he said could have sparked civil war, comparing the mutiny led by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin to the chaos that gripped Russia during the 1917 revolution.
Asked by Portal if Russia is stable and can reassure the world that the country is not descending into chaos, Lavrov said Moscow is under no obligation to explain anything or give anyone any guarantees.
“If anyone in the West has any doubts, it’s their problem,” Lavrov said at a press conference in Moscow. “Thank you for your concern for our national interests, but that is not necessary.”
“Russia has always emerged from all difficulties more resilient and stronger, and it is difficult to call it anything other than difficulties,” he added.
Since an agreement to end the unrest was reached on Saturday, the Kremlin has tried to instill calm, with Putin discussing tourism development, meeting crowds in Dagestan and debating ideas for economic development.
However, many questions remain unanswered. Prigozhin has not been seen in public since Saturday night. Two high-ranking Russian generals involved in the Ukraine war have also not been seen for days.
Asked about the prospects for peace in Ukraine, Lavrov said he had the impression that the West wanted to temporarily freeze the conflict in order to strengthen the Ukrainian army.
“It’s a schizophrenic situation: they say that the talks are over, but first you have to defeat Russia,” he said.
(Portal report; edited in Spanish by Carlos Serrano)