Moscow (EFE).- The head of the Wagner group of Russian mercenaries, Yevgueni Prigozhin, “will go to Belarus,” the Kremlin announced today when commenting on the details of the agreement with the man who led an armed rebellion against the Russian military leadership.
“The criminal case that was opened to him will be closed and he (Prigozhin) will go to Belarus,” said the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov.
Peskov, quoted by the TASS agency, added that the other “Wagnerites” who took part in the mutiny due to their “merits at the front” will not be prosecuted either.
Meanwhile, the fighters who rebelled will be able to sign contracts with the Defense Ministry, he said.
The ‘Wagnerites’ reached 200 kilometers from Moscow
Prigozhin announced hours ago the return of his fighters to permanent bases to “avoid bloodshed” in Russia.
“The time has come when blood can be shed. Therefore, understanding full responsibility for the spilling of Russian blood by one of the parties, our columns turn around and return to our bases according to plan, ”he said in an audio message on his Telegram channel.
Prigozhin said that the Russian military elites, against whom he had rebelled, “wanted to disintegrate Wagner”, and explained that for this reason he announced the “march for justice”, during which, in 24 hours, he advanced up to 200 kilometers Moscow after taking the southern city of Rostov-on-Don.
The head of the Wagner Group made this announcement after the press service of the President of Belarus, Alexandr Lukashneko, stated that the president had mediated between Moscow and Prigozhin, with the permission of the Russian head of state, Vladimir Putin.
They attribute the agreement to the president of Belarus
According to the Kremlin, it was a “personal initiative” by Lukashenko, who has known Prigozhin for 20 years.
According to the Belarusian press, Putin and Lukashenko spoke by phone again on Saturday night and the Kremlin chief thanked his Belarusian counterpart for negotiating with the Wagner leader.
“The Belarusian president informed the Russian president in detail about the outcome of the negotiations with the Wagner leadership” and Putin thanked him for the “work done,” reported the Pul Pervogo channel, linked to the Belarusian Presidency.
In parallel, Wagner’s forces began to withdraw from Rostov-on-Don.