2023-07-10 12:17:09
Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Evgeny Prigozhin, founder of the private military company Wagner, days following the uprising was lifted. Mr Putin has denounced Wagner’s uprising as a “betrayal”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a news conference on June 10 that Putin had a three-hour meeting with Prigozhin at the Kremlin on June 29. A total of 35 Wagner executives were invited to the meeting. Peskov’s remarks were reported by several Russian media outlets.
Peskov was quoted by Interfax news agency as saying that Putin “listened to the commander’s account and expressed his views” on the June 24 Wagner uprising. He also offered Wagner options regarding employment and combat activities.
The Wagner uprising has posed the greatest threat to Putin’s regime for nearly a quarter of a century, but the meeting adds a surprising dimension to it. At the time of the uprising, Mr Putin said he would “severely” punish Wagner’s leadership, and in a subsequent televised speech he accused the rebel ringleaders of “betraying the country and the people”.
Wagner founder Evgeny Prigozin
Source: Bloomberg
Prior to this, on the 10th, state television showed General Gerasimov, who had not been seen in public since the Wagner Rebellion, received a report on the state of the war from senior military officials. Wagner had called for the dismissal of Mr. Gerasimov in the rebellion.
news-rsf-original-reference paywall">Original title:Putin Met Wagner Chief Prigozhin Days After Revolt, Kremlin Says(excerpt)
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