Legalizing private military companies is a complicated issue that should be handled by the government and the parliament, because formally companies such as Wagner PMC are non-existent in Russia at this point, Russian President Vladimir Putin was quoted as saying.
This is as the Russian Foreign Ministry’s official Spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, has said Russia will give a proportionate response to the potential use of cluster munitions by the armed forces of Ukraine.
Kommersant’s special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov quoted the Russian President as saying in response to a question about the organization’s future that, from the point of view of the Russian legislation, “Wagner PMC does not exist.”
The Russian President, who spoke to journalists on Thursday after participating in the plenary session of the Future Technologies Forum, explained that Russia has no law on private military companies and, therefore, “there is no such legal entity.”
“The [Wagner] Group exists, but it is judicially non-existent,” the report quotes Putin as saying. “The formal legalization is a separate issue that should be addressed by the State Duma [the lower chamber of the Russian parliament] and the government. It’s a complicated issue.”
The President believes that the Wagner Group controversy “is very simple and clear for [members of] the Russian society.”
“Wagner’s ordinary members were fighting with dignity… so it is very regrettable that they became embroiled into these events,” Putin added.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zakharova said in her response to questions of the International Life journal, published by the Ministry’s official website on Thursday said: “Russia is aware of dangers that cluster munitions pose to the civilian population. That is why it has never used them during the special military operation. However, if the armed forces of Ukraine decide to use munitions of this kind, [Russia] will be forced to give a proportionate response.”
Zakharova recalled that the US decision to supply cluster munitions to the Kiev government shocked the entire international community late last week. She added that many countries, including Western ones, openly declared that their use in Ukraine was unacceptable.
“In particular, Spanish Defense Minister Margarita Robles addressed the issue of cluster munitions for Kiev on July 8, saying that ‘under no circumstances must certain armaments be delivered.’ On the same day, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said the republic hopes for universal application of the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. During talks with the US president in London on July 10, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak reaffirmed that the Great Britain adhered to its commitments under the convention, which include discouragement of their use,” the diplomat said.
Zakharova said the US administration’s decision was condemned by domestic US political forces as well.
“On July 8, 19 US congressmen published a statement, saying that the White House’s leading position in the human rights domain implies the decision not to hand over cluster munitions that create serious risks for the civilian population,” she added.
She reiterated that 123 countries have signed the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, which prohibits this type of armament. Besides, Zakharova added that even now, 50 years after the US war in Vietnam, tragic incidents in which civilians are maimed or killed by unexploded cluster bomb submunitions still occur in that country.
“Washington’s decision to supply cluster bombs to Ukrainian neo-Nazis stems from its desire to inflict maximum strategic damage to Russia. The US admitted that its stockpiles of ordinary munitions were running out, so inhumane types of weaponry are now in use. At the same time, the Americans have no concern about civilians killed as a result of their criminal actions. They are ready to literally ‘fight Russia to the last Ukrainian,’” the diplomat said.
Originally published in TASS
