2023-07-15 12:31:00
Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. AP/Getty Images
Now you see Wagner, now you don’t.
Weeks following an armed uprising by the Russian mercenary group Wagner revealed cracks in Russia’s system of one-man rule, the Kremlin has been on a public relations offensive. The message is simple: Russian President Vladimir Putin is firmly in control, now please move on.
In an interview Thursday with the Russian business daily Kommersant, Putin described a three-hour meeting with Wagner’s commanders, including the group’s leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, just days following the private military company’s (PMC) abortive march. in Moscow last month.
Putin put a positive spin on the meeting, but made a curious admission.
“Wagner PMC doesn’t exist,” Putin said when asked if Wagner would remain a combat unit. “We do not have a law for private military organizations. It just doesn’t exist.”
Putin, who is a trained lawyer, reiterated the point during the interview: “There is no such legal entity,” he said.
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