Minsk: Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said that the rebel leader of the Viganism group, Viginia Prigozhin, is in Russia with his fighters and that reports of his death by Moscow authorities are baseless.
Speaking to the media on Thursday, he said that according to the agreement, Vigini Prigozhin was supposed to terminate the private Malaysia and move to Belarus with his colleagues, but he did not show any interest and he is still in Russia.
He said that Belarus still stands by the offer to host Prigosan, NATO countries are concerned about the coup in Russia, which he will discuss with Putin soon.
Alexander said that Prigozhin was not in Belarus, but in St. Petersburg and was supposed to leave for Moscow in the morning, probably being closely watched by the Russian security forces.
Lukashenko said that if Putin wanted to kill the head of the Wagner group, it would have caused a lot of bloodshed, but he has assured us that he will not take any such revenge and that he will stand by his word while Fighters of the rebel group are also serving in camps in Ukraine.
read more: Threat of military coup in Russia averted, head of rebel group orders personnel to withdraw
The Belarusian leader dismissed questions about whether Putin had been weakened by the crisis, but said he did not want to discuss the motivations behind the coup. At its peak, the situation was so dire that Belarusian special forces were ready to fly in to help defend Moscow, he said.
Lukashenko said that Putin had known Prigozhin for 30 years, and that Wagner was founded by Russia’s GRU military intelligence service and was Russia’s best fighting force.
The president of Bella Rose said that he is in contact with the Russian president and the head of the rebel group on the phone and the future situation will be clear on the decision of those days.
Lukashenko said Prigozhin and Wagner have expressed their intention to continue working for Russia, proposing that private company fighters be sent to dangerous areas in Ukraine.
The Kremlin, on the other hand, has refused to answer any questions about the location and return of the rebel leader, but observers say that if Prigozhin returns unconditionally, it will weaken Putin’s position.
Also read: A military coup is a blow and a stab in the back, Russian president
On the other hand, the American newspaper has claimed that the leader of the rebel group has gone to Russia to get weapons and money under the agreement.
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