US to delay sanctions on Wagner for fear of siding with Putin: WSJ

The US is reportedly planning to delay further sanctions Wagner group after its leader Yevgeny Prigozhin announced on his Telegram channel that he stormed the Rostov region and took over the military headquarters in response to what it claims was a Russian attack on its troops previously under the orders of the Ministry of Defence.

According to people close to the matter, the US is wary of appearing to side with the Russian president. The Wall Street Journal reported

“Washington doesn’t want to appear to be taking sides on this,” WSJ quoted a close source.

According to those sources, the State Department was expected to unveil additional sanctions on Wagner’s gold business in Africa on Tuesday, including an alleged mining operation set up by the company in the Central African Republic.

Washington had previously sanctioned the group for its alleged role in disinformation efforts, particularly during the 2016 U.S. presidential election, which were never proven, as well as its involvement in the war in Ukraine, but the administration Biden planned to tighten the screws on his international trade. empire

Cameron Hudson, a former chief of staff to the US special envoy to Sudan, stated that Washington had a strategy to “target, isolate and weaken Wagner’s growth in Africa”, adding that by maintaining this approach , Washington is potentially helping Putin.

The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a statement on Saturday as a warning to the West against any attempt to use the ongoing armed rebellion situation in Russia for their own purposes.

The Ministry emphasized that Russian society has done so rejected armed rebellion with “the adventurous efforts of the conspirators aimed essentially at destabilizing the situation in Russia, undermining its unity and efforts to ensure international security.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has continued to express confidence that a resolution is near, maintaining that the objectives of the military operation in Ukraine will not be affected and will be achieved.

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