The Kremlin announced on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, Yevgeny Prigozhin, five days after the failed coup attempt. Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, told reporters that the meeting took place on June 29 and that 35 persons were invited, including unit commanders. He went on to say that the meeting lasted three hours. Putin “gave his assessment of the events of June 24,” Peskov said, referring to the date of the Wagner Group’s failed uprising. He added that Putin also “listened to accounts given by (Wagner) commanders” The Wagner leaders told Putin that they were his warriors and would fight for him in the future.
The news follows suspicions that Prigozhin was not exiled to Belarus as part of the peace arrangement negotiated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko told reporters on Thursday that it was unclear whether the Wagner fighters would come to Belarus after he previously offered them a desert military base. “As for Prigozhin, he’s in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus,” he said. The Kremlin responded to Lukashenko’s remarks by saying it was “not following” Prigozhin’s movements. “No, we do not follow his movements; we do not have the ability or the desire to do so,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday.
The botched coup attempt
After rising dissatisfaction with top Russian defense officials, Prigozhin announced a coup against the Kremlin on June 24. The mercenary gangs grabbed control of Rostov-on-Don, one of Russia’s major cities, but did not go any farther, citing a desire to avoid “shedding Russian blood” and agreeing to live in exile in Belarus. Initially, Putin accused the group of treason and intended to murder Prigozhin, a former ally of Putin’s, but Lukashenko claimed to have intervened and arranged a peace accord between the two parties.
Prigozhin was given security as part of the agreement, and Wagner’s Russian criminal prosecution was abandoned. Its fighters were advised that they could sign regular army contracts, return home, or travel to Belarus. The Wagner leaders told Putin that they were his warriors and would fight for him in the future. The news follows suspicions that Prigozhin was not exiled to Belarus as part of the peace arrangement negotiated by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. Lukashenko told reporters on Thursday that it was unclear whether the Wagner fighters would travel to Belarus despite his previous promise of a desert military base. “As for Prigozhin, he’s in St Petersburg. He is not on the territory of Belarus,” he said.
