President Joe Biden on Monday said United States and NATO had no involvement in the short-lived insurrection in Russia by the Wagner Group mercenary force. He said it’s “too early” to assess theimpact on the war in Ukraine.

Biden said he held a video call with allies over the weekend and they are all in sync in working to ensure that they give Russian President Vladimir Putin “no excuse to blame this on the West” or NATO.

“We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it,” Biden said. “This was part of a struggle within Russian system.”

Biden also spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend about the situation and said he intended to speak with him again later Monday or early Tuesday.

(AP)