Chollet in Belgrade: Must stop the activity of the Russian military group “Wagner”

The American State Department adviser said he has voiced these concerns during talks in Belgrade with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic.

“We have seen that the Wagner Group is trying to recruit soldiers from Serbia and find out, and this is something we think cannot continue”, he told reporters after the meeting.

“I don't know if there is concern (in Serbia); we talked about our concerns and we want to work with the government here in Belgrade and other countries where Wagner is active, to end all their activities”, he added.

The Wagner Group, owned by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, has reportedly been active in dozens of countries -- generally Africa -- co-operating with governments for pro-Russian propaganda and other military and political projects.

This group has boasted about the presence in Serbia, which is the only European country, along with Belarus, which has not joined sanctions against Russia for the war in Ukraine. It was announced that this group had also announced the opening of offices in Belgrade, but later this was denied.

Moscow's propagandistic portal, RT, has recently opened a Serbian-language news page where it has published ads by the Wagner Group, which are required to recruit fighters in Ukraine, saying that this group offers rewards “more than attractive”.

Mr. Chollet said the Wagner Group has been acting in terrible ways worldwide, whether in Libya, the Central African Republic, or already in Ukraine”.

The group, where a large contingent of convicts recruited in Russian prisons reportedly led the attacks in eastern Ukraine, including in fierce battles in Soledar and Bakhmut.

Mr. Prigozhin and his group have been involved in US sanctions for years, and the United States has recently taken further steps to bring this group's approach to weapons under control.

Wagner Group mercenaries have also been charged by Western countries and experts from the United States for multiple human rights abuses throughout Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Libya and Mali. Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced that he has already classified the Wagner Group as a particularly disturbing “entities because of activity in the Central African Republic.

Mr. Chollet also called on Serbia to impose sanctions on Russia, the traditionally Allied Slav country.

We think countries should join sanctions and the reason we believe this is because Russia's actions should not only be punished, they should also be punished”, he said. Russia is waging a brutal, unjustified war against Ukraine every day. We have to stay together, make sure this behavior is clear that it's unacceptable”.

The top US envoy began a series of visits to several Balkan countries, focusing on international efforts to normalise relations between Kosovo and Serbia, after weeks of increased tensions. Kosovo's independence is not recognised by Serbia and Russia.