The White House urged China on Monday to stop supporting Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine after the brief Wagner mutiny threw Russia’s domestic political balance into uncertainty.
According to White House national security spokesperson John Kirby, the Biden administration is actively monitoring the situation but has not yet determined how the recent revolt of Wagner Group, a prominent Russian private military company, will affect Russia, Ukraine, and other European nations.
The White House is also unsure whether this will make Beijing more hesitant to back the Kremlin.
It is up to the Chinese regime to decide what happens next in its relations with Moscow, Kirby said during a press briefing in response to a question from The Epoch Times.
“We don’t want to see any country at all support Mr. Putin and make it easier for him to kill more Ukrainians,” Kirby stated.
“We want to see every country around the world sign up and actually implement the [international] sanctions that are in place … and not provide any ability for Mr. Putin to continue to operate his war machine. And we have communicated that not just to the PRC, but to other countries all around the world.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin broke his silence on Monday for the first time since the Wagner mutiny ended in an uncertain peace on June 24, promising in a televised address that the Wagner rebellion’s leaders would face punishment.
On Friday, Wagner Group initiated an armed mutiny against the Kremlin under the direction of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the group’s leader and once a trusted ally of Putin.
On Saturday, Prigozhin ordered his forces to stand down and return to base as part of a deal in which criminal proceedings against him were purportedly withdrawn in exchange for his agreeing to go into exile in neighboring Belarus.
In his speech, Putin referred to Wagner’s acts as a “stab in the back” and vowed to crush what he called a “rebellion.”
During a White House event on Monday, President Joe Biden also commented on the brief insurrection, saying he had been in close communication with U.S. allies over the weekend to prepare for a variety of possible scenarios.
“They agreed with me that we had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse—let me emphasize—we gave Putin no excuse to blame this on the West or to blame this on NATO. We made clear that we were not involved,” Biden said.
“It’s still too early to reach a definitive conclusion about where this is going. The ultimate outcome of all this remains to be seen.”
Beijing has been closely monitoring the situation and has voiced its support for Putin after a brief but impactful insurrection that poses a great challenge to the Russian leader’s power.
“This is Russia’s internal affair,” a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in an online statement. “As Russia’s friendly neighbor and comprehensive strategic partner of coordination for the new era, China supports Russia in maintaining national stability and achieving development and prosperity.”
On Sunday, China’s Foreign Minister Qin Gang held a meeting with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko in Beijing to discuss “Sino-Russian relations and international and regional issues of common concern,” according to the Chinese Foreign Ministry. Rudenko also held “scheduled consultations” with China’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Ma Zhaoxu.
Tom Ozimek contributed to this report.
