Kremlin does not know Wagner chief’s current location: Spokesman

MOSCOW

The Kremlin does not follow the movements of Wagner paramilitary group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.

"We do not follow his movements, we have neither the opportunity nor the desire," Peskov told reporters in Moscow.

Turning to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s unannounced visit to Bulgaria to seek military assistance, Peskov said: "All these discussions (with Bulgarian authorities) and the results of these discussions are in no way capable of influencing the outcome of a special military operation. And the current situation at the front more than eloquently confirms this," he said.

Asked about the Taliban’s desire to join the next meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Peskov said decisions about inviting participants are made on a consensus basis.

"So, this is a topic that should be considered in preparation for the next summit," he said.

Commenting on the value of the ruble, which significantly lost value to the dollar after the attempted mutiny of the Wagner Group, Peskov said significant fluctuations in exchange rates often occur due to "speculative games."

"We really all see fluctuations -- the exchange rate is rising, the ruble is falling. But let's remember, we've seen this several times before. And there were bounces back. And you and I know perfectly well that, as a rule, there is a significant share of speculative games in such increases, which probably cannot be excluded even now," he said.

He pointed out that the situation in Russia's economy is generally stable and macroeconomic indicators are better than expected.

Peskov also responded to a question about Russian-Israeli citizen Elizaveta Tsurkov, who disappeared in Iraq several months ago.

"No, we do not have such information," he said in response to the question if the Kremlin is aware of the situation. "We will definitely ask the Foreign Ministry because measures to protect interests (of Russian citizens abroad) are usually taken through our diplomatic agencies.”

According to the Israeli radio station Kan, Tsurkov was abducted by supporters of the Shiite Hezbollah movement several months ago.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu blamed Iraq for the fate and security of Tsurkov.