Germany doesn’t seek regime change in Moscow – Scholz

Berlin doesn’t wish to meddle in Russia’s domestic affairs, the chancellor has said

Germany has no intention to intervene in Russia’s internal affairs, Chancellor Olaf Scholz told journalists in Brussels on Thursday, a week following the failed armed rebellion launched by the Wagner private military company. 

Berlin can only “observe” the events in Russia from a distance, Scholz said on the sidelines of an EU summit. He added that Germany had nothing to do with the short-lived mutiny that took place in Russia last weekend. 

“We are not a party to what is happening in Russia,” the chancellor said, adding that “our goal is not … a regime change in Russia.” Instead, Berlin seeks to continue to help Ukraine in its fight against Moscow, he said. 

On June 23, Wagner chief Evgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of launching a deadly missile strike on one of the group’s camps, vowing retaliation. The ministry denied the allegation. The Wagner troops then occupied part of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don and some of the group’s elements sought to march on Moscow. Prigozhin halted the march the next day in exchange for security guarantees as part of a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

READ MORE: Russia owes West no explanation about Wagner mutiny – Lavrov

Scholz reaffirmed that NATO would defend its members in Eastern Europe in case of a potential escalation with Belarus. Polish President Andrzej Duda, meanwhile, has recently said that it would be a “negative signal” for his country if Prigozhin and some remnants of the Wagner Group would relocate to Belarus as part of the arrangement to end the mutiny.