On the day that the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, considered that the Russian president had emerged “weakened” from the Wagner Group rebellion and was therefore “even more dangerous”, Vladimir Putin was meeting in Moscow with the leader of the mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and three dozen of his commanders, who have sworn loyalty to him, according to the Kremlin. The three-hour meeting, which has only just been revealed, took place on June 29, five days after the brief rebellion that took place 200 kilometers from the Russian capital.
The fact that Prigozhin met with Putin just five days after the march to Moscow leaves many questions. First of all, if it’s true that they swore loyalty to him, why wasn’t the meeting announced right away? Then why is the Russian media running a negative campaign against the leader of the Wagner Group if, apparently, all is well with the Kremlin? Finally, where does the agreement that was negotiated with the help of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko stand?
According to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, at the meeting the president made an assessment of the Wagner Group’s actions in Ukraine and also of the events of the day when the mercenaries marched to Moscow. “The commanders themselves presented their version of what happened. They underlined that they are loyal supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the commander in chief, and also said that they are ready to continue to fight for their homeland”, Peskov explained yesterday.
On the day of the rebellion, Prigozhin accepted a negotiated settlement with Lukashenko’s support, whereby the charges against him were dropped and he would have an open door to go and live in Belarus with his men. In two audio messages released since then, Prigozhin said his aim was never to overthrow Putin – who even called him a “traitor” – but to defend his men. And he called for a change in Russian military leadership, targeting Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Armed Forces chief Valery Gerasimov – of whom a video was released yesterday, his first public appearance since the rebellion.
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