Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Wagner’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin and leaders in the group to discuss the armed rebellion they attempted against senior military leaders.
News of the meeting was first reported in the French newspaper Liberation, which said that Prigozhin met with Putin, the head of the National Guard, Viktor Zolotov, and the head of foreign intelligence, Sergey Naryshkin.
According to Peskov, the meeting took place on June 29, five days after the insurgency was nipped in the bud.
The Russian presidential spokesman told reporters that Putin had invited 35 people to attend the meeting, including Prigozhin and commanders of Wagner units, and that the meeting lasted three hours.
“All we can say is that the president offered his assessment of the (Wagner) group’s performance on the front during the special military operation (in Ukraine), as well as his assessment of the events of June 24 (the day of the insurrection),” he added.
Peskov also indicated that the Russian president listened to the leaders’ explanations of what happened and offered them more options for action and fighting.
“The leaders presented their version of what happened (on June 24). They confirmed that they are firmly supportive of President Putin, Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, and that they are his soldiers. They also said that they are ready to continue fighting for the Fatherland,” Peskov said.
The brief rebellion led by Prigozhin was defused through a deal brokered by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin likened the events to the turmoil that swept Russia in the period leading up to the 1917 revolution, and thanked the army and security services for averting chaos and civil war.
Prigozhin said the revolt was not aimed at overthrowing the government but rather at “prosecuting” army chiefs and senior defense officials for what he said were serious mistakes and unprofessional behavior in Ukraine.
Under the agreement that ended the rebellion, Prigozhin is supposed to move to Belarus. But Lukashenko said last week that Prigozhin had returned to Russia.
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