The Wagner chief, Yevgeny Prigozhin, held a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on June 29 in the Kremlin, days after the mercenary group attempted to overthrow Russia’s military leadership, according to the Kremlin’s announcement on Monday.
“The president gave his assessment of the events of June 24,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, referring to the failed insurrection, adding that Putin also “listened to accounts given by (Wagner) commanders”.
The Wagner group’s fate and the agreement that put a stop to the uprising against Russia’s senior military command are still very much in doubt little over two weeks after the mutiny that was put down.
The mercenary commander and a few of his fighters were supposed to be banished to Belarus under the plan.
Wagner men would sign contracts with the conventional army if they wanted to continue fighting for Russia in the meantime.
Putin “offered them alternative options for employment,” including in combat duties, during the three and a half hours they spent in the Kremlin with the Wagner commanders.
Observers see the rebellion as the biggest challenge to Putin’s authority since he came to power.
Wagner commanders “stressed that they are staunch supporters… of the head of state”, Peskov said.
“They also said that they were ready to continue fighting for the motherland.”
Alexander Lukashenko, the president of Belarus, who served as the mediator in the agreement with Wagner, claimed on Thursday that neither Prigozhin nor his men were in his nation.
