Alyaksandar Lukashenka has revealed what the negotiations during the 24 June PMC Wagner rebellion were like. Lukashenka has also confirmed Prigozhin’s arrival in Belarus, as per BelTA.
Lukashenka said that he had been unaware of how serious the situation in Russia was until Saturday morning, thinking: “The war is on, lots of things might be happening there.” On 24 June in the morning, Lukashenka was told that Vladimir Putin asked to contact him.
“The most dangerous thing, as I understand it, is not what it was like, but how it could develop. This was the most dangerous. [Putin] made a brutal decision to wipe out Wagner. As I spoke to Putin, I suggested that he slow down. I told him I could talk to Prigozhin and his commanders.
To which he replied: “Sasha, it’s useless. He doesn’t even pick up the phone, he doesn’t want to talk to anyone.”
So, I asked Putin where Prigozhin was, and he was in Rostov. I said: “Fine, a bad peace is better than a good war. Give me time. I’ll try to contact him”. Here’s what Putin also said: “I tell you what, that’s weird, but the things are better than ever on the frontline right now”. So, by around midday we established three channels we can use to talk to Rostov,” Lukashenka said.
According to the Belarusian leader, General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov played a major role in organising the negotiations. Director of Russia’s FSB Alexander Bortnikov also took part in the negotiations initially. “No one else participated in these negotiations apart from Yevkurov and FSB Director Bortnikov during the initial stage,” Lukashenka shared the details.
Lukashenka claims that Prigozhin immediately agreed to speak with him as the call arrived. “He was euphoric. Yevgeny was completely euphoric. During the first round we talked only in swear words for about 30 minutes,” Lukashenka revealed.
“The lads have just arrived from the frontline. They saw thousands of their dead comrades. They are very aggrieved, especially the commanders. And, as I understand it, they had a great influence on Prigozhin himself,” Lukashenka said.
He stated that he had been convincing Prigozhin to stop the rebellion for a long time, and at the end of the conversation Lukashenka allegedly said: “You know, you can do whatever you want. But don’t get me wrong. Our brigade is ready to head for Moscow. And, same as in 1941 (you read books, you’re an educated, intelligent person), we’re going to defend Moscow. Because this situation is not only about Russia; this is our Fatherland.
If, God forbid, this feud would spread through the rest of Russia, and there were hard reasons to believe so, we would be next in the line.”
Lukashenka explained that he decided to share the details of what had happened, since Russian “jingo-patriots” “began to attack Putin, demand that he go on with criminal cases, put people into prisons or wipe them out.”
Vladimir Putin addressed servicemen of the Russian military in front of the Kremlin’s Palace of the Facets earlier today. “You virtually halted a civil war by acting firmly and seamlessly,” Putin said.
The criminal investigation on the account of the PMC Wagner armed rebellion had been terminated by the FSB, as per earlier reports.
