Inside his grand palace, Lukashenko speaks out on Putin, Prigozhin and the Wagner mutiny | World Information

Alexander Lukashenko repeated his declare at present that there have been no heroes within the remarkably speedy decision of Prigozhin’s mutiny, thanks at the least partly to his personal mediation efforts.

However the Belarusian leader is actually capitalising on the massive media curiosity generated by the entire affair, inviting choose journalists to the grand, marble-drenched Palace of Independence within the centre of Minsk for a morning Q&A, up shut and private with the president.

Not one thing Vladimir Putin has chosen to do, as an alternative internet hosting Dagestani children within the Kremlin and customarily attempting to make it appear as if the entire nasty episode is over and performed with.

However it would not actually appear to be.

The deal that was struck to maintain the Wagnerites from Moscow doesn’t but seem to have been fulfilled.

Yevgeny Prigozhin was not in Belarus however nonetheless in Russia, Mr Lukashenko stated, although if anybody thought Mr Putin was so “vindictive and malicious” he would possibly go forward and “whack him somewhere tomorrow“… He will not.

So far as Mr Lukashenko believes, Prigozhin is a free man, his possessions returned, all prison {cases} dropped.

Does he see the potential for a rapprochement between Prigozhin and the Kremlin?

He is unsure, however the two males have identified one another for 30 years, he stated, and had loved a “excellent relationship with one another, perhaps much more than good relations”, no matter which will imply.

Discussions are nonetheless ongoing as to the place and the way Wagner troops in Belarus might be based mostly, not essentially on the base close to Osipovichi the place satellite tv for pc imagery suggests a build-up of army services, however in a variety of different spots, he stated.

Are Wagner forces a risk to Belarus?

Does he take into account a bunch of battle-hardened, ex-con mercenaries a risk, males who’d marched on Moscow and who would possibly countenance marching on Minsk?

By no means.

Belarus can use their experience, and with 750,000 of his personal troops, it isn’t as if Wagner forces can afford to get any sensible concepts, per the Commander in Chief.

He repeated nonetheless that his forces had been on the point of deploying to Moscow if the state of affairs with Prigozhin had spiralled, to stop a potential civil battle.

Did he assume the Russian President was weakened by the entire affair?

No, “do not even hope for that”, he stated.

Lukashenko claims Western targets already recognized

The opposite key matter was nuclear weapons – and the deployment of tactical nuclear warheads to storage websites inside Belarus.

Mr Lukashenko appeared delighted that the switch had occurred with out, he believed, the West having any concept how he and Putin had managed it.

Regardless of the very fact the Kremlin has all the time maintained any firing rights stay with Russia alone, Mr Lukashenko insisted that any aggression onto Belarusian territory could be met with a response, with targets within the West already recognized, he claimed.

As for the concept the Chinese language President might need warned Russia off utilizing nuclear weapons, as reported by the Monetary Occasions, he stated that was simply pretend information.

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He is aware of Xi Jinping personally, he stated, and he is aware of he would by no means inform Putin that.

This was a approach of attempting to divide key allies, he stated.

Mr Lukashenko was chatty and accommodating. He likes these sorts of occasions.

An opportunity to set out his stall to the worldwide press and soak within the adulation from his personal.

I might gone with the obscure hope we’d see Prigozhin sitting beside him, wheeled out for the event.

However that was to not be.

Nonetheless, Mr Lukashenko stated he’d cross on our request for an interview with the Wagner boss.

Let’s examine if that promise holds.