MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2023) Beijing has expressed support for Moscow's efforts to stabilize the situation in Russia amid recent developments involving the Wagner Group private military company (PMC) and its head Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
"The Chinese side expressed support for the efforts of the leadership of the Russian Federation to stabilize the situation in the country in connection with the events of June 24 and reaffirmed its interest in strengthening the unity and further prosperity of Russia," the ministry said following a Sunday meeting of Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko and Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing.
The Russian ministry stressed that Moscow and Beijing are bound by "trust-based" relations.
"The sides praised the current state of Russian-Chinese relations and confirmed readiness for joint efforts to steadily strengthen them," the statement read.
On Friday, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) opened a criminal case for inciting armed mutiny over statements made on behalf of Prigozhin. The FSB said that there was a threat of escalation on Russian territory. The Russian Defense Ministry said that social media reports of alleged Russian military strikes on PMC Wagner camps were not true.
Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address to the nation on Saturday in which he described the actions of the Wagner Group PMC as an armed mutiny and treason, and promised harsh measures against the insurgents.
Later in the day, the Belarusian presidential office said that Prigozhin had accepted Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's proposal to stop the movement of Wagner troops in Russia and to take further steps to de-escalate the situation. Prigozhin later confirmed the information, saying that the Wagner troops were returning to their field camps.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Saturday evening that the criminal case against Prigozhin had been dropped and that he would leave for Belarus under guarantees given by Putin. The spokesman added that the members of the Wagner PMC who were involved in Saturday's events would not be prosecuted, given their distinguished service during Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.
