China downplays Wagner rebellion as Russia’s ‘internal affairs’

Beijing says it supports Russia in maintaining national stability, without explicitly referring to Vladimir Putin personally

Chinese officials have described an aborted rebellion by the Wagner group of mercenaries as Moscow's internal affairs", while one state media mouthpiece dismissed the divisions in Russia as an illusion" being exploited by the west.

Russia's deputy foreign minister Andrei Rudenko held talks in Beijing on Sunday after the most serious challenge to president Vladimir Putin's grip on power since he came to power in 2000.