Putin Met Mercenary Chief 5 Days After Short-Lived Rebellion: Kremlin

MOSCOW: 

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Wagner mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin on June 29, five days after the group marched towards Moscow in a short-lived rebellion.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that Putin invited 35 people to the meeting, including unit commanders, and that it lasted three hours. The Wagner commanders told Putin they were his soldiers and would continue to fight for him, Peskov said

It was defused in a deal brokered by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. Putin has since thanked his army and security services for averting chaos and civil war.

Prigozhin has said the mutiny was not aimed at overthrowing the government but at “bringing to justice” the army and defence chiefs for what he called their blunders and unprofessional actions in Ukraine.