After Wagner, Russia may establish another private military company

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - After Wagner, Russia plans to establish another private military company, or PMC, the head of the agency for the development of ties with foreign countries announced on Saturday.

Evgeny Primakov said on Telegram that the agency needs its own military force to protect its branches in "unfriendly" countries.

"Rossotrudnichestvo is forced to react to the deteriorating situation with the further functioning of our offices in unfriendly countries, realizing that hysterical accusations against us will continue.

"We, in fact, have nothing to lose, so realizing that we need to somehow ensure the safety of Russian homes and the rights of our compatriots, having no other tools, decided to register in one of the foreign jurisdictions our own PMC," he said.

Primakov argued that PMCs "proved" their efficiency and that the "appearance of well-armed robust and motivated people" in offices of Rossotrudnichestvo will make the work on cultural and humanitarian tracks "more visible."

The official also said he expects that people who complained about Russia's "incapability to provide defense of its compatriots" will feel "satisfied" about such a decision.

Primakov said documents on the PMC establishment will be submitted by the end of Saturday, without specifying either in which country or for consideration of which authorities.

However, he mentioned two names that are considered for the company, one is Pushkinisty meaning the followers of Russian poet Aleksandr Pushkin, or Whiskers -- again as a reference to Pushkin because the poet had whiskers.

In case it is registered, the will be the second PMC after the Wagner group, which became known for its operations in Africa and Ukraine.