Lukashenko says he told Putin not to ‘waste’ rebel Wagner chief

By AFP 27 June 2023, 6:22 pm

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Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko talk during their meeting at the Bocharov Ruchei residence in the resort city of Sochi, Russia, Friday, June 9, 2023. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko says he had urged his ally Russian President Vladimir Putin not to kill the head of the mercenary Wagner group, which last week attempted to topple Russia’s top brass.

Lukashenko, a long-time ally of Putin, claimed to have negotiated an end to the armed insurrection and has said he will take in exiled rebels and Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin.

“I said to Putin: we could waste [Prigozhin], no problem. If not on the first try, then on the second. I told him: don’t do this,” Lukashenko says during a meeting with security officials, according to state media.

Lukashenko earlier confirmed Prigozhin, who led the deadly march on Moscow last week, will be in Belarus on Tuesday, under a deal that ended his revolt.

The 68-year-old authoritarian leader has been hit with Western sanctions for cracking down on opposition figures and allowing Russia to attack Ukraine last year from Belarusian territory.

Kremlin critics have accused Putin of orchestrating the killings of several prominent government opposition figures and the near-fatal poisoning of politician Alexei Navalny.