Russian President Vladimir Putin met Wagner mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin days after the failed uprising that he’d denounced as treason, adding another twist to the unprecedented mutiny that threatened the Russian leader’s nearly quarter-century rule.
Putin held talks with Prigozhin and top Wagner commanders at the Kremlin for nearly three hours on June 29, the president’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said Monday, according to Russian news services. The commanders pledged loyalty to Putin as head of state and commander-in-chief and declared their readiness to continue fighting for Russia, Peskov said.
The meeting raises fresh questions about the June 24 revolt that Putin said brought Russia to the edge of civil war, as well as the deal Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko brokered to end it. While Putin said he’d let Prigozhin go to Belarus under the agreement, the Wagner founder shows little sign he plans to leave Russia and his presence at the Kremlin suggested he felt confident about his security.