Tensions between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin subsided relatively peacefully after the two parties reached a deal with Prigozhin to go into exile and sounded the retreat. As per the deal announced by Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, Prigozhin will go to neighbouring Belarus and charges of mounting an armed rebellion will be dropped, reported the news agency Associated Press. It also said that it would not prosecute fighters who took part in the rebellion while those who did not join in were to be offered contracts by the defence ministry.
Putin’s “highest goal” was “to avoid bloodshed and internal confrontation with unpredictable results,” said Peskov as Prigozhin and his forces were allowed to go free.
After a brief span of rebellion and turning in against Russia, Prigozhin, who had vowed to topple the Russian military, said that troops were ‘turning back’ to avoid spilling blood.
According to a report from RT Russia, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko announced that he had arranged a deal whereby Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin would abandon his mutiny in exchange for “security guarantees” for his fighters.
“Evgeny Prigozhin accepted the proposal of President Alexander Lukashenko to stop the movement of armed men of Wagner in Russia and take further steps to de-escalate tension,” read a statement from Lukashenko’s office, as reported by RT Russia.
As the rebellion mounted, Putin vowed to punish those behind the armed uprising led by his onetime protege, whose forces seized a key military facility in southern Russia before advancing on the capital. In a televised speech to the nation, he called the rebellion a “betrayal” and “treason.”
Prigozhin deserted his mission shortly after Wagner’s convoy moved closer to Moscow, hours after members of the private military outfit passed through the southern city of Rostov-on-Don. In a series of video statements released since Friday, Prigozhin declared that he was advancing on Moscow to confront Russian military officials he deemed corrupt.
