Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin published a new audio recording Saturday claiming he was turning his forces around from a march toward Moscow.
Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin speaks in this screengrab from a video released on June 24. Press service of “Concord”/Handout/Reuters
“We turning our columns around and going back in the other direction toward our field camps, in accordance with the plan,” he said in a message on Telegram.
The announcement comes as the Belarusian government claimed President Alexander Lukashenko had reached a deal with Wagner boss to halt the march of his forces on Moscow.
“This morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin briefed his Belarusian counterpart on the situation in southern Russia with the private military company Wagner,” the statement said. “The heads of state agreed on joint actions.
“As a follow-up to the agreements, the President of Belarus, having being additionally informed on the situation through his own channels, and in agreement with the President of Russia, held talks with the head of Wagner PMC Yevgeny Prigozhin,” the statement continued. “Yevgeny Prigozhin accepted the proposal of the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko to stop the movement of armed persons of the Wagner company on the territory of Russia and take further steps to de-escalate tensions.”
CNN has reached to Prigozhin’s office for comment.