Biden warns missing Russia coup boss 'be careful what you eat' amid murder fears
Joe Biden has confirmed he doesn't know where Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is - and joked "if I were him, I'd be careful what I ate."
The US president was giving a press conference on Thursday after capping off a trip in Europe to show the world military alliance NATO remains "more united than ever" against Russia's invasion of Ukraine when he made the chilling comments.
Mr Biden was asked where Wagner Group Chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is, when he admitted he didn't know, before joking "if I were him, I'd be careful what I ate."
Yevgeny Prigozhin's revolt saw Wagner fighters seize the city of Rostov and headed toward Moscow in an armed convoy, in what was seen as a unprecedented public challenge to Vladimir Putin.
But after a world wind of a 24 hours, Prigozhin announced he would stand down after reaching a deal with government officials.
Russian model killed after calling Putin a 'psychopath' was strangled by her ex
Joe Biden said he doesn't know where the leader is (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)President Joe Biden said he and other NATO leaders allies "understand that this fight is not only a fight for the future of Ukraine," noting that it's also about sovereignty and security.
"At this critical moment in history, this inflection point, the world watching to see, will we do the hard work that matters to forge a better future?
"Will we stand together, will we stand with one another? Will we stay committed to our course?" Mr Biden said. He said the answer was a "resounding yes."
Earlier on Thursday, Mr Biden met with the leaders of other Nordic nations including Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland.
Joe Biden made the comments earlier on today (AP)Sweden is poised to be admitted as NATO's 32nd member country after it pledged more cooperation with Turkey on counterterrorism efforts while backing Ankara's bid to join the European Union. Finland gained NATO membership earlier this year.
Both Finland and Sweden abandoned a history of military nonalignment and sought to join NATO alliance after Russia invaded Ukraine last year.
Mr Biden's brief stop in the shoreline Finnish capital is the coda to a tour that was carefully sketched to highlight the growth of a military alliance that the president says has fortified itself since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Finland's admittance to NATO effectively doubled the alliance's border with Russia.
(AP)Mr Biden arrived in Helsinki after what he deemed a successful NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, where allies agreed to language that would further pave the way for Ukraine to also become a future member.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy called the summit's outcome "a significant security victory" for his country but nonetheless expressed disappointment at not getting an outright invitation to join.
Mr Biden and other administration officials also held what aides said were pivotal conversations with Turkey before that country dropped its objections to Sweden joining NATO.
Give Ukraine western fighter jets to fight Russians, urges Boris Johnson
It was an unprecedented attack on Putin (AP)He said he felt good about the trip. "We accomplished every goal we set out to accomplish," he told reporters Wednesday before the flight to Finland.
And despite Zelenskyy's expressed frustrations, Mr Biden - who met with the Ukrainian leader Wednesday in Vilnius - said Thursday that Zelenskyy "ended up being very happy."
The U.S. president's trip this week - a meticulously choreographed endeavour meant to showcase international opposition to Russian leader Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine - played out nearly five years to the day since then-President Donald Trump infamously stood alongside Putin in Helsinki and cast doubt on his own intelligence apparatus.
That was just days after Trump tore through a NATO summit where he disparaged the alliance and from which he threatened to withdraw the United States.
Read more similar news:
Comments:
comments powered by Disqus
