WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden said Monday that the United States and NATO had no involvement in the short-lived insurgency in Russia by the Wagner Group mercenary force. He said it was “too early” to assess the impact on the war in Ukraine.
Biden said he held a video call with allies over the weekend and they were all in sync to make sure they weren’t giving Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘no excuses to blame the West’ or NATO.
“We made it clear that we were not involved. We have nothing to do with it,” Biden said. “It was part of a struggle within the Russian system.”
Biden also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend about the situation and said he intended to speak to him again later Monday or early Tuesday.