Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly met with Wagner group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin a few days after the mercenary group's failed rebellion against Moscow's military leadership.
In a statement on Monday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the meeting between Putin and Prigozhin only lasted three hours and was held on June 29. He also released a few details regarding the discussions but noted that the Russian strongman provided an "assessment" of Wagner's actions on the battlefield and the failed mutiny.
Putin Met With Prigozhin Days After Failed Mutiny
Peskov said that the commanders presented their version of what happened during those times, underscoring that they were staunch supporters and soldiers of the head of state and the commander-in-chief. They also committed to continue fighting for their homeland.
The Russian president spent the next few days after the thwarted rebellion discrediting the Wagner chief and claiming that the Russian people did not support Prigozhin's mutinous takeover of Roston-on-Don and his group's march toward Moscow, as per Fox News.
However, Putin's claims contradict the seemingly positive images after Wagner's bloodless rebellion. The mercenary group took over the southern city, which also serves as the headquarters of the Russian southern military district command.
There were about 35 people who attended the meeting between Putin and Prigozhin last month, including top commanders from the Wagner group. However, it needed to be made clear whether or not raking Ministry of Defense officials were also present during the talks.
The mercenary group leader had repeatedly claimed that he was not rebelling against Putin, only the latter's top military commanders. These include Defense Ministry Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov, whom Prigozhin said mistreated Wagner troops fighting in Ukraine.
The Wagner group's failed rebellion ended with charges against Prigozhin being dropped and offered a move to Belarus. According to BBC, the mercenary group and the Russian Ministry of Defense have had infighting over the conduct of the war as Prigozhin accused officials of failing to provide supplies to his group.
Thwarting the Wagner Group's Rebellion
The situation comes as Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who brokered the deal that ended Wagner's rebellion, said that Prigozhin was in Russia on Thursday. The latter's private jet was initially tracked flying to Belarus in late June and returned to Russia later that evening.
There were also speculations that the mercenary group's rebellion was thwarted in exchange for Gerasimov being removed from his post. However, he was later seen on footage issuing orders to attack Ukrainian missile sites.
The meeting was seen as an attempt by Putin to avoid completely removing an experienced fighting force that has a popular following while Russia is in the middle of a very costly war with Ukraine.
Some analysts argued that the Russian president could also see the rebellion as little more than a factional feud that went out of control. The director of the Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center, Alexander Gabuev, said that he was not assuming that Prigozhin was immediately back on Putin's good side, said the New York Times.
