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Mutiny in Russia weakens Wagner abroad
Prigozhin’s mercenary group has extensive links in Africa and the Middle East
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Members of Wagner group prepare to pull out from the headquarters of the Southern Military District to return to their base in Rostov-on-Don, on June 24.
PHOTO: AFP
Bobby Ghosh
If the Wagner Group’s mutiny has set off schadenfreude in Western capitals over the predicament of Russian President Vladimir Putin, it will spread unease through the palaces of the Middle East. The region’s rulers, reactionary autocrats almost to a man, tend to be nervous about uprisings of any kind – not least for fear they may inspire potential rebels closer to home.
Leaders of the Arab world will doubtless follow the example of Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in providing Mr Putin with reassurances of support. Nowhere is that more true than in the Gulf’s petrostates, which, in addition to a dread of unrest, have strong ties to Russia through their common interest in propping up the price of oil.
