Biden: US and Allies Not Involved in Putin's Rebellion

(Patria) - Biden's message that the West is not involved in the Wagner rebellion was sent directly to the Russians through various diplomatic channels, White House National Security Spokesperson John Kirby told reporters, Reuters reported.

At an event at the White House, Biden commented on Wagner's march towards Moscow over the weekend. He said he instructed his national security team to keep him informed of the situation "hour by hour" and to prepare for a range of scenarios, which he did not detail.

Russian intelligence services are investigating whether Western spy agencies played a role in the aborted rebellion, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Monday, TASS news agency reported.

The US intelligence community "was aware" that the rebellion orchestrated by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin "was a possibility" and informed Congress about it before it began, a source familiar with the matter said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Biden said he spoke with key allies on a video conference to ensure everyone was on the same page and coordinated in their response.

"They agreed with me that we must make sure not to give Putin (Russian President Vladimir) an excuse, that Putin has no excuse to blame the West and NATO for this," he said.

Biden said he and his team would continue to assess the consequences of the incident.

"It is too early to draw a final conclusion about where this is going," he added. He said his message to allies was "it is important that we remain fully coordinated".

Kirby said the United States does not know the details of the agreement reached between Putin and Prigozhin that ended the uprising. He said he did not know where Prigozhin was.

"We are not taking sides in this internal matter," he said.