MINSK, August 25. /TASS/. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that he did not take responsibility for Wagner PMC founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s personal security, and Prigozhin never asked him about it.
"First, I was not supposed to ensure Prigozhin’s safety. Second, we never had any conversation in this key," the president said, according to BelTA.
Lukashenko noted that he discussed two issues with Prigozhin during the Wagner PMC mutiny attempt: cessation of criminal cases against PMC fighters and their relocation to Belarus.
"I said: ‘if you are afraid of something, I will talk to [Russian President Vladimir] Putin, we will relocate you to Belarus. We guarantee full safety in Belarus to you.’ And, let’s give credit where credit is due, Prigozhin never asked me to pay special attention to matters of security," the Belarusian president underscored.
He underscored that there was no way for him to ensure Prigozhin’s safety on a plane en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg.
"How could I ensure this kind of safety? This is not a question for me. Besides, there has never been such a discussion - to ensure safety on someone else’s territory," Lukashenko said, adding that Belarus fulfilled all its promises for the Wagner PMC on its territory.
"They [Wagner PMC - TASS] have no complaints. Yesterday, State Security Committee Chairman [Ivan Tertel] contacted them on my order and relayed only one message: everything that we agreed upon with Prigozhin will be fulfilled," Lukashenko said.
The Embraer passenger jet plane en route from Moscow to St. Petersburg crashed in the Tver Region on Wednesday evening. According to preliminary information, 10 people were aboard, all of them were killed in the crash. The Federal Agency for Air Transport of Russia said that Yevgeny Prigozhin was listed as a passenger. A criminal case over charges of violation of air transport safety rules has been initiated.