Blinken Prohibits State Department Employees from Commenting on Wagner Group's Rebellion

On the evening of June 23, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken sent an urgent telegram to American foreign policy officials worldwide, prohibiting them from commenting on the Wagner Group's insurrection in Russia. This was reported on Monday by the Axios portal, citing sources.

According to them, Blinken has forbidden all State Department employees from speaking about the rebellion or discussing the situation in Russia with anyone. If foreign government representatives were to ask U.S. officials about what is happening in the Russian Federation, they should only say that the U.S. is monitoring the situation.

The letter also indicated that Blinken and his close circle are directly monitoring the developments among staff. As one recipient of the Secretary’s letter revealed, the addressees have assumed that Washington aims to ensure that no American diplomat says anything that might give the impression that the U.S. is involved in the Russian crisis.

Another interlocutor from the State Department noted that Blinken wanted U.S. officials to wait for a more detailed picture of the events before commenting on it.

According to Axios, this telegram shows that reports of the rebellion have seriously unsettled the U.S. administration. The letter also emphasized how important it was for the White House and the State Department to control the public and private statements of U.S. representatives on this issue, the portal highlights.