After a weekend of chaos in Russia that appeared at one point to throw the entire future of Vladimir Putin’s control of the country into doubt, President Joe Biden says that his administration worked in response to ensure that the US and its allies couldn’t be blamed.
The president spoke briefly about the events of the past 72 hours in Russia, where Wagner Group mercenaries seized a major hub of Russia’s defence sector before turning their columns towards the nation’s capital.
Mr Biden told reporters that he had convened the US’s European allies to discuss the political fallout from the mess, and “to make sure that we’re all on the same page”.
“It’s critical that we’re coordinated in our response and we’re coordinated in what to anticipate,” he said, before adding that the assembled leaders had agreed that they could give Vladimir Putin “no excuse to blame this on the west, or to blame this on NATO”.
“We made clear that we were not involved,” he continued. “We had nothing to do with it. This was part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
“It’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going... But no matter what comes next, I will keep making sure that our allies and our partners are closely aligned in how we are reading and responding to the situation.”
He went on to describe a call that had taken place between himself and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelesnky, adding that he had assured his Ukrainian counterpart that the US would remain in Ukraine’s corner regardless of the outcome in Russia.
The president’s words came after the White House and broader administration largely kept a close but silent watch over the weekend as the events in Russia unfolded; the Department of Defence released a statement indicating that the US would remain committed to the defence of Ukraine on Saturday, but offered no details about the broader outlook of US intelligence and defence officials on the continued viability of Mr Putin’s government.
The lone exception was Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who told CBS’s Face the Nation on Sunday that the situation raised questions about the strength of Mr Putin’s grip on power.
"This is an unfolding story, and I think we're in the midst of a moving picture," Mr Blinken said. "We haven't seen the last act. We're watching it very closely."
He went on to say that the rebellion showed “real cracks” in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s power structure, and raised “profound questions” about his ability to hold on to that power.
US and European commentators outside of government, meanwhile, took to the airwaves to proclaim the imminent end of the Russian government headed by Mr Putin, predicting that further setbacks in Ukraine would expose deeper fractures in a regime that over the weekend was arguably exposed as fragile.
Kremlin statements have indicated that Wagner coup leader Yegevny Prigozhin struck a last-minute deal to avert bloodshed in Moscow that involved his exile to Belarus; experts including Mr Blinken have predicted that any potential concessions that Mr Putin was forced to make to hold on to control of the government will be exposed in the coming days.
