The Group of Seven foreign ministers on Saturday agreed to closely coordinate over the situation in Russia, the Japanese government said, in the wake of an alleged armed uprising against President Vladimir Putin.
In an urgently arranged conference call, the ministers discussed "pressing issues facing the international community, including the situation in Russia," the Foreign Ministry said in a press release. They "shared the view that the G-7 will continue to work closely together."
Putin on Saturday said in an emergency televised address that an "armed mutiny" by the Wagner Group is treason, warning of decisive action against the mercenary force, which had been fighting alongside the Russian military in Ukraine.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the private military company, has claimed the Russian force attacked his paramilitaries starting Friday and that he is leading his troops out of Ukraine and into Russia.
The private army appeared to control the military headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city over 1,000 kilometers south of Moscow that runs Russian offensive operations in Ukraine, The Associated Press reported by citing the British Defense Ministry.
The development followed months of public infighting between Wagner and the Russian army over the invasion of Ukraine.
The G-7 nations are Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union. Japan holds this year's presidency of the group.
