Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin said in a voice message published on Monday that his Wagner group was not currently recruiting fighters but was likely to do so in future.
The future of Wagner and Prigozhin has been unclear since he led a short mutiny against the Russian defense establishment in late June and the Kremlin said he and some of his fighters — who have fought in some of the fiercest battles of the Ukraine war — would leave for Belarus.
Despite that, Prigozhin attended a meeting with Putin five days after the mutiny and was photographed last week in St. Petersburg, where President Vladimir Putin was hosting African leaders.
“Today we are defining our next tasks, whose outline is becoming clearer and clearer. Undoubtedly, these are tasks that will be carried out in the name of the greatness of Russia,” a voice sounding like Prigozhin’s said in the message. It was published on Grey Zone, a Telegram channel affiliated with Wagner.
After the June mutiny, the Kremlin said Wagner fighters who had not taken part would transfer to the regular army, signing contracts with the defense ministry.
Apparently alluding to this, Prigozhin said in the voice message that “unfortunately” some of his fighters had moved to other “power structures,” but he said they were looking to return.
“As long as we don’t experience a shortage in personnel, we don’t plan to carry out a new recruitment,” Prigozhin said.
“However, we will be extremely grateful to you if you keep in touch with us, and as soon as the Motherland needs to create a new group that will be able to protect the interests of our country, we will certainly start recruiting.”
Since the mutiny, some Wagner fighters have moved to Belarus and started training its army. In comments published last week, Prigozhin also said Wagner was ready to further increase its presence in Africa.
Its role there, especially in support of governments in Mali and Central African Republic, is a source of concern for Western governments. The United States has accused it of committing widespread atrocities and imposed sanctions on it as a criminal organization.
Prigozhin says it works in line with the laws of the countries where it operates. Last week he welcomed a military coup in the west African state of Niger and made what appeared to be a pitch for his fighters to bring order there.
Russia’s Prigozhin says Wagner is not recruiting now, may do so in future
https://arab.news/9xb55
Russia’s Prigozhin says Wagner is not recruiting now, may do so in future
- Since the mutiny, some Wagner fighters have moved to Belarus and started training its army
Britain’s Starmer seeks to bolster China ties despite Trump warning
- “The UK has got a huge amount to offer,” he said in a short speech at the UK-China Business Forum at the Bank of China
SHANGHAI: Visiting Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Friday Britain has a “huge amount to offer” China, after his bid to forge closer ties prompted warnings from US President Donald Trump.
Starmer’s trip is the first to China by a British prime minister in eight years, and follows in the footsteps of other Western leaders looking to counter an increasingly volatile United States.
Leaders from France, Canada and Finland have flocked to Beijing in recent weeks, recoiling from Trump’s bid to seize Greenland and tariff threats against NATO allies.
Trump warned on Thursday it was “very dangerous” for Britain to be dealing with China.
Starmer brushed off those comments on Friday, noting that Trump was also expected to visit China in the months ahead.
“The US and the UK are very close allies, and that’s why we discussed the visit with his team before we came,” Starmer said in an interview with UK television.
“I don’t think it is wise for the UK to stick its head in the sand. China is the second-largest economy in the world,” he said.
Asked about Trump’s comments on Friday, Beijing’s foreign ministry said “China is willing to strengthen cooperation with all countries in the spirit of mutual benefit and win-win results.”
Starmer met top Chinese leaders, including President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang, on Thursday, with both sides highlighting the need for closer ties.
He told business representatives from Britain and China on Friday that both sides had “warmly engaged” and “made some real progress.”
“The UK has got a huge amount to offer,” he said in a short speech at the UK-China Business Forum at the Bank of China.
The meetings the previous day provided “just the level of engagement that we hoped for,” Starmer said.
He signed a series of agreements on Thursday, with Downing Street announcing Beijing had agreed to visa-free travel for British citizens visiting China for under 30 days, although Starmer acknowledged there was no start date for the arrangement yet.
The Chinese foreign ministry said only that it was “actively considering” the visa deal and would “make it public at an appropriate time upon completing the necessary procedures.”
Starmer hailed the agreements as “symbolic of what we’re doing with the relationship.”
He also said Beijing had lifted sanctions on UK lawmakers targeted since 2021 for their criticism of alleged human rights abuses against China’s Muslim Uyghur minority.
“President Xi said to me that that means all parliamentarians are welcome,” Starmer said in an interview with UK television.
He traveled from Beijing to economic powerhouse Shanghai, where he spoke with Chinese students at the Shanghai International College of Fashion and Innovation, a joint institute between Donghua University and the University of Edinburgh.
- Visas and whisky -
The visa deal could bring Britain in line with about 50 other countries granted visa-free travel, including France, Germany, Australia and Japan, and follows a similar agreement made between China and Canada this month.
The agreements signed included cooperation on targeting supply chains used by migrant smugglers, as well as on British exports to China, health and strengthening a bilateral trade commission.
China also agreed to halve tariffs on British whisky to five percent, according to Downing Street.
British companies sealed £2.2 billion in export deals and around £2.3 billion in “market access wins” over five years, and “hundreds of millions worth of investments,” Starmer’s government said in a statement.
Xi told Starmer on Thursday that their countries should strengthen dialogue and cooperation in the context of a “complex and intertwined” international situation.
Relations between China and the UK deteriorated from 2020 when Beijing imposed a national security law on Hong Kong and cracked down on pro-democracy activists in the former British colony.
However, China remains Britain’s third-largest trading partner, and Starmer is hoping deals with Beijing will help fulfil his primary goal of boosting UK economic growth.
British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca said on Thursday it would invest $15 billion in China through 2030 to expand its medicines manufacturing and research.
And China’s Pop Mart, makers of the wildly popular Labubu dolls, said it would set up a regional hub in London and open 27 stores across Europe in the coming year, including up to seven in Britain.
Starmer will continue his Asia trip with a brief stop in Japan on Saturday to meet Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
