How the 'masculine' talks that averted a siege on Moscow went down, according to Putin's negotiator
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The Putin ally in Belarus says he persuaded Wagner's Prigozhin to back down in expletive-filled talks, warning him he'd "be crushed like a bug."
Belarus' Lukashenko shared new details about the talks that averted a crisis in Moscow.
Thousands of Wagner fighters led by Prigozhin threatened to advance on Moscow Saturday.
Lukashenko's long-winded account gives him a starring role in persuading Prigozhin to back down.
Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko had quite the story to tell Tuesday as he regaled a crowd of military officers about his 11th hour intervention that three days before averted a siege on Moscow.
His rambling account at the ornate Palace of Independence in Minsk offered new details on the behind-the-scenes negotiations that persuaded Yevgeny Prigozhin to withdraw his thousands of Wagner Group fighters from Russia, capping the biggest political crisis of Russian leader Vladimir Putin's rule.
On the Saturday call, Putin sounded bleak about the armed standoff with Prigozhin: "Listen, it's useless. He doesn't even pick up the phone, he doesn't want to talk to anyone," Putin said, according to Lukashenko. But Lukashenko urged him to wait to attack the rebels.
When he reached the mercenary boss at around 11 a.m., Lukashenko got an earful.
Lukashenko says he had "six or seven" rounds of phone calls, although it wasn't clear from the state-run account what was said on which calls. Prigozhin arrived in Belarus after Lukashenko's offers of safety and as of late Tuesday had not publicized his own detailed version of the negotiation that led to his exile.
"I began to ask questions," Lukashenko continued. "I asked: "Did you kill civilians, military who did not oppose you?" Prigozhin replied: "I swear, we did not hurt anyone. We occupied the headquarters. Here I am," Lukashenko recalled.
"I say: "What do you want?"
Prigozhin, again per Lukashenko: "I am not asking for anything. I just want Shoigu and Gerasimov. And I need to meet with Putin."
"No one will give you Shoigu or Gerasimov, especially in this situation. You know Putin as much as I do. Secondly, he will not meet with you, he will not even talk on the phone with you in this situation."
After a pause as the warlord weighs this, perhaps sensing his options are closing, Prigozhin replies: "But we want justice! They want to destroy us! We'll march on Moscow!"
"You'll just be crushed like a bug," Lukashenko replied.
Hours later, Prigozhin said he would accept Lukashenko's offer to withdraw but worried his thousands of fighters could be attacked by Russian troops as they retreated. Lukashenko says he "guaranteed" his safe passage, one offer that did hold up.
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