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Three channels of communication established with Wagner by mid-day June 24 — Lukashenko

According to the Belarusian leader, he told Putin that "a bad peace is better than a good war," asking him to take his time and wait, to which the Russian leader answered that it was useless, since Prigozhin was not picking up

MINSK, June 27. /TASS/. Three channels of communication were established with PMC Wagner by mid-day on June 24 thanks to Russia’s help, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday.

"I told him [Russian President Vladimir Putin]: ‘How can I get in touch with him (Yevgeny Prigozhin)? Give me his number.’ He said, ‘The FSB most probably knows his telephone number.’ We asked. By mid-day, we established three channels to speak with Rostov-on-Don," the BelTA news agency quoted him as saying.

According to Lukashenko, he told Putin that "a bad peace is better than a good war," asking him to take his time and wait, to which the Russian leader answered that it was useless, since Prigozhin was not picking up.

On the evening of June 23, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the PMC Wagner, said on his Telegram channel that his units had been attacked and accused the military leadership of Russia of doing so. The Defense Ministry dismissed these allegations as false. PMC Wagner units who agreed to support Prigozhin headed for Rostov-on-Don and towards Moscow. The FSB (Federal Security Service) opened a case over the call for armed mutiny. Russian President Vladimir Putin in a televised address described the PMC Wagner’s actions as treason.

Later, by agreement with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko held talks with Prigozhin. The PMC Wagner’s convoys turned back and returned to their field camps. On Tuesday, the FSB’s public relations center said the criminal case had been dropped.