Russian President Vladimir Putin held talks with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin days after the failed rebellion that he had denounced as treason, the Kremlin mentioned.
Putin met Prigozhin and high Wagner commanders on the Kremlin for practically three hours of talks on June 29, the president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, instructed reporters on a convention name Monday, in response to Russian information companies. In all, 35 folks together with managers of the personal navy firm have been invited, Peskov mentioned.
Putin “listened to the reasons of the commanders” concerning the June 24 mutiny and “gave his evaluation” of the disaster, the Interfax information service cited Peskov as saying. The president provided Wagner forces additional choices for employment and fight operations, it reported.
The extraordinary assembly provides one other twist to the rebellion that spiraled into essentially the most critical menace to Putin’s practically quarter-century rule. The Kremlin chief had threatened “harsh” punishment of Wagner’s leaders when the insurrection broke out and later instructed Russians in a televised tackle that organizers of the mutiny “betrayed their nation and their folks.”
Prigozhin’s forces got here to inside 200 kilometers (124 miles) of Moscow just about unopposed in the course of the rebellion earlier than he known as off the 24-hour revolt below a deal brokered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. Putin agreed to permit the Wagner founder and his males to maneuver to Belarus and to drop felony instances of armed mutiny towards them.
The Kremlin’s assertion got here hours after Russia’s high navy commander was proven on state tv for the primary time for the reason that abortive mutiny that had geared toward ousting him. Chief of the Basic Workers Valery Gerasimov, who’s answerable for Russia’s warfare operations in Ukraine, was proven in a quick video receiving battlefield reviews from officers.
Putin appointed Gerasimov as general commander of Russia’s invasion pressure in January rather than Basic Sergei Surovikin, who hasn’t been seen in public for the reason that Wagner insurrection ended. Prigozhin had sought to overthrow Gerasimov and Protection Minister Sergei Shoigu, blaming them for a number of failures in the course of the warfare and accusing them of in search of to destroy his mercenary group.
