Kremlin Says Putin Held Meeting with Wagner Group Commanders
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting in the Kremlin with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner PMC and the group's commanders to discuss the events of June 24, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday.
"Indeed, the president had such a meeting. He invited 35 people to it. All group commanders and company management, including Prigozhin. This meeting took place in the Kremlin on June 29 and lasted almost three hours," Peskov told a briefing, Sputnik reported.
The details of the meeting are confidential, but both Putin and Wagner commanders gave an assessment of the June 24 events, the spokesman said.
"The only thing we can say is that the president gave an assessment of the company's actions at the front line during the 'special military operation', and also gave his assessment of the events of June 24. Putin listened to the explanations of the commanders and offered them further employment options," Peskov said.
Commanders of Wagner told Putin that they are his staunch supporters and are ready to continue fighting for Russia, the spokesman concluded.
On June 23, forces of the Wagner Group (PMC) seized the headquarters of Russia's Southern Military District in the city of Rostov-on-Don, following accusations leveled against the Russian Ministry of Defense for allegedly striking the group's camps. Both the Russian military and the Federal Security Service have denied the allegations.
The next day, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko revealed that he had spent the entire day negotiating with Yevgeny Prigozhin, as agreed upon with Putin. As a result of the talks, the Wagner group leader accepted Lukashenko's proposal to stop the movement of his troops in Russia and take measures to de-escalate the situation.
Putin guaranteed that the Wagner group fighters would have the opportunity to sign contracts with the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, return home, or move to Belarus.
