MOSCOW: The Kremlin has said that it has made an agreement mercenary group Wagner, which has openly challenged Russian President Putin, to avoid bloodshed.
“Avoiding bloodshed, internal conflict, and clashes with unpredictable consequences was the highest target,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, saying that Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko’s mediating efforts were aimed at achieving that target.
Deal with Wagner Made to Evade ‘Bloodshed’: Kremlin Spokesman
Moscow confirmed an agreement had been inked and that Yevgeny Prigozhin would have all charges against him dropped and go to Belarus.
Mutinous Russian mercenary group Wagner agreed to turn back to avoid bloodshed, the group leader said on Saturday. The troops of the Wagner private army run by ex-Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin were already most of the way to Moscow, having taken the city of Rostov and set off on an 1,100 km race to Moscow.
In an audio message, Yevgeny Prigozhin asked his fighters to return to base due to the risk of blood being spilled. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko’s office said that an agreement to stop further movement of Wagner men across Russia in return for guarantees of safety for the rebels was brokered by Alexander Lukashenko.
Earlier, Belarus said on Saturday that Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko after the head of Wagner announced he was turning around his men.
“Alexander Lukashenko informed Putin in detail regarding the results of talks with head PMC Wagner,” Lukashenko’s press office said in a statement, saying the Russian President “thanked his Belarusian counterpart.”
The head of the rebel Wagner threatened to march on Russia’s capital city Moscow on Saturday before saying a pull-back, adding they (Wagner) did not want to spill blood.
In a statement, the head of Russia’s Lipetsk region said that they were lifting restrictions following the Wagner forces march stopped.
Russian President Vladimir Putin pledged to crush the revolt and prevent the country from descending into civil war as rebel mercenaries from the Wagner private military force advanced toward Moscow after seizing a strategic military base.
The United States (US) also announced that it would maintain close coordination with its Group of Seven (G7) allies in response to the crisis in Russia. State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller emphasized that the US support for Ukraine will not waver.
