MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2023) Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko's efforts in talks with the Wagner Group private military company (PMC), Yevgeny Prigozhin, were aimed at reaching the "highest goal" of avoiding an internal confrontation in Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the Belarusian presidential office said that Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin, with the latter accepting Lukashenko's proposal to stop the movement of Wagner troops in Russia and take further steps to de-escalate the situation.
"There was the highest goal of avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation and clashes with unpredictable results. It is for these goals that Lukashenko's mediation efforts were made, and President Putin made a relevant decision on that," Peskov told journalists, adding that the phone call between the two presidents was sincere and "very constructive."
The leaders agreed on Lukashenko's brokering efforts since the Belarusian president has personally known Prigozhin for around 20 years, the official stated, also noting that Lukashenko himself had proposed his talks with the Wagner head.
Peskov stated that thanks to the agreement the situation had been resolved without further losses, with members of the Wagner PMC able to return back to their field camps.
