Wagner Group accepts proposal to stop its advance in Russia | News

The head of the private military group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, accepted on Saturday the offer of the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, to stop the advance on Russian territory and take new measures to reduce tensions.

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The press service of the Belarusian president said that a profitable and acceptable option has been developed to resolve the situation with security guarantees for the fighters of the Wagner PMC.

This morning, President Vladimir Putin informed his Belarusian counterpart about the situation in the south of Russia with the private military company Wagner. The heads of state agreed to undertake joint action.

Following the agreements, the President of Belarus, once the situation was clarified through the channels available to him, held talks with the head of the Wagner private military company, Evgeny Prigozhin, in coordination with the Russian president.

For his part, Prigozhin also confirmed that he had accepted Lukashenko's proposal.

Prigozhin announced that his fighters will return to their bases after approaching 200 kilometers from Moscow, to avoid bloodshed.

"The time has come when blood can be shed. Therefore, understanding full responsibility for Russian blood being shed by one of the parties, our columns turn around and return to our bases according to plan," he said in a statement. audio message on his Telegram channel.

Wagner's militiamen have already left the territory of the Russian army headquarters located in that city, which they had taken today "without a shot", according to the statements of the head of the group.

The withdrawal of the fighters of the Rostov-on-Don mercenary group comes less than two hours after Prigozhin announced that Wagner will return to his bases to avoid bloodshed in Russia.

Putin thanked Lukashenko for his "work done," the Belarusian presidency announced on Saturday, after militia chief Wagner ordered his men not to continue their march to Moscow and to return to their camps.

"The President of Belarus informed the President of Russia in detail of the results of the negotiations with the leadership of the Wagner group," Minsk said in a statement, adding that Putin had "thanked" his ally "for the work done."