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On June 24, events took a turn: Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin occupied a town with his Wagner mercenaries and announced that he would move to Moscow. The world held its breath: was this the beginning of a coup? Putin’s fall?
A little later the message: Prigozhin breaks off the storming of Moscow and goes into exile to Belarus. Apparently negotiated by dictator Lukashenko. Now the independent Russian portal “Meduza” reports that Putin has refused any direct contact with Prigozhin.
“It wasn’t quite clear what to talk about”
According to a Meduza source close to the Kremlin, authorities had been negotiating with Prigozhin since the evening of June 23, when he announced the start of his march.
“The military leadership, members of the presidential administration, the National Guard leadership and officials close to him tried to communicate with Prigozhin.” But Prigozhin made vague demands. That Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu should be removed from office, that Wagner affairs should not be interfered with and that more money should be discussed. “It wasn’t quite clear what to talk about,” says the source.
Prigozhin himself tried to contact the Kremlin around noon. He allegedly tried to call Putin. “But the president wouldn’t speak to him.”
Lukashenko led the negotiating group
It was then clear to Wagner’s boss that he had “gone too far”. From then on he negotiated with a larger group of officials. Among them Anton Vaino, the head of the presidential administration, Nikolai Patrushev, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, and Boris Grislov, the Russian ambassador to Belarus. However, these negotiations were led by the dictator in Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, an old friend of Prigozhin.
According to the Kremlin source, Putin’s refusal to participate in the negotiations was a unique opportunity for Lukashenko: he is now publicly seen as the man who prevented civil war in Russia. (new)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
