Putin met with Wagner PMC group commanders: Kremlin

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Jul 2023 15:07
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The Kremlin spokesperson reiterates that Russia considers the transfer of the leaders of the Azov battalion by Ankara to Kiev as a violation of agreements.

A view of the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, September 19, 2021 (AFP)

Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with the head of the Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin and the group's commanders to discuss the June 24 armed mutiny attempt.

"Indeed, the president had such a meeting. He invited 35 people to it. All group commanders and company management, including Prigozhin. This meeting took place in the Kremlin on June 29 and lasted almost three hours," Peskov told a briefing.

The Russian diplomat indicated that the details of the meeting are confidential, but both Putin and Wagner commanders gave an assessment of the June 24 events.

"The only thing we can say is that the president gave an assessment of the company's actions at the front line during the special military operation, and also gave his assessment of the events of June 24," he said.

Peskov added that "Putin listened to the explanations of the commanders and offered them further employment options," highlighting that Wagner's commanders told the Russian President that they are his staunch supporters and are ready to continue fighting for Russia.

On the evening of June 23, the Wagner Group took control of an army headquarters in Rostov-on-Don, a city in southern Russia, and marched toward Moscow the next day. Back then, Prigozhin claimed that his activities were in retaliation for the Russian Defense Ministry's alleged strikes on his group's field camps, but the Ministry denied this.

After talks with Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, who was acting at the behest of Putin, Prigozhin decided to put an end to the attempted armed mutiny.

In a separate context, the Kremlin spokesperson reiterated that Russia considers the transfer of the leaders of the nationalist Azov Battalion by Ankara to Kiev as a violation of agreements, adding that the matter will be discussed with Turkey.

On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the leaders of the Azov Battalion had returned to Ukraine from Turkey.

"As for the return of the Azov leaders, yes, this is a violation of the existing agreements, and we will discuss this with the Turkish side, as we, in fact, have already begun to do," Peskov told reporters.

He made it clear that the prospects for creating a gas hub have nothing to do with the Azov leaders' return to Kiev, noting that Moscow plans to maintain its relationship with Ankara.

"As a sovereign state, Turkey has the absolute right to develop relations with any countries, including Ukraine. But, of course, being partners with Turkey, we want to hope that the development of these relations will not be [sic] directed against us," he said.

Touching on the accession of Ukraine to NATO, Peskov warned that this step will have very negative consequences for the European security architecture.

"You know the absolutely understandable and consistent position of Russia that Ukraine's membership in NATO will have very, very negative consequences for the entire already half-ruined security architecture in Europe and will be an absolute danger, a threat to our country," he told reporters.

The Russian diplomat underlined that Kiev's accession to the Washington-led military alliance will require a fairly clear and firm response from Russia.

The Kremlin spokesperson said there are no ongoing talks scheduled between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but if the terms of the grain deal need to be discussed, these talks will take place.

Elsewhere, Peskov said the date of Putin's visit to Turkey is still unknown. On Saturday, Erdogan said that he expects the Russian leader to visit Turkey in August.