Canada, NATO allies held talks on ‘possible implications’ of Wagner uprising, says Trudeau

Canada held talks with its NATO allies about “possible implications” of Russia’s Wagner mercenary group advancing on Moscow over the weekend before abruptly ending their insurgent march soon after, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.

“We obviously had very serious talks about possible implications of the internal challenges facing Russia,” Trudeau told reporters on June 26 in Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland, where he met leaders of other Nordic countries such as Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway.

Trudeau reiterated that events in Russia related to the Wagner Rebellion were “internal challenges” for Russia, but also said that “everyone is wondering what this actually means”.

“We don’t have many answers yet,” the prime minister said. “And too much speculation at this point, I think, could probably be extremely counterproductive.”

Trudeau said talks with Canada’s allies focused on “potential challenges and potential implications for our own security, for the security of our people, [and] for global stability.”

Russian mercenaries part of Wagner’s private military organization launched an armed uprising on June 23 to force a change in the helm of the Russian military, but agreed to halt the rapid advance on Moscow a day later after they captured a southern city.

The group’s leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, said on June 24 that he had ordered his mercenaries to retreat to their field camps in Ukraine.

The brief uprising provoked reactions from governments around the world, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken saying “cracks are appearing” in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s power as the country’s invasion of Ukraine continues.

“So much that is beneath the surface has now resurfaced in terms of questioning the premise for the war, in terms of questioning the conduct of the war, in terms of questioning of the good this has done for Russia,” Blinken told ABC News. on June 25.

Trudeau said on June 25 that he discussed the Wagner Rebellion with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US President Joe to prayand also said the Canadian government “continues to monitor the evolving security situation in Russia.”

“We’ll be in touch about this,” Trudeau said in a Twitter post about his meeting with Biden. “And we will remain united to support Ukraine.”

Tom Ozimek and Jack Phillips contributed to this report.