Putin wanted to 'wipe out' Prigozhin but was talked down by Lukashenko, Belarusian leader says

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said he convinced Russian President Vladimir Putin not to "wipe out" Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin during Saturday's short-lived rebellion, which Putin had called "treason." 

Prigozhin marched an alleged 25,000 mercenaries nearly all the way to Moscow over the weekend, demanding the ouster of Russian military leadership before making an abrupt about-face. Putin had vowed to flatten the rebels, comparing the incident to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and subsequent civil war, but Lukashenko claimed to have brokered a deal where Prigozhin would relocate to Belarus and Wagner Group fighters would not face prosecution.

Lukashenko said Tuesday that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus and that his men would be welcome to stay in the country "for some time" at their own expense, The Associated Press reported.

While describing his Saturday conversation with Putin, Lukashenko used the Russian criminal slang phrase for killing someone, equivalent to the English phrase to "wipe out."

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"I also understood: a brutal decision had been made (and it was the undertone of Putin's address) to wipe out" the mutineers, Lukashenko told a meeting of his army officials and journalists on Tuesday, Reuters reported, citing Belarusian state media. 

"I suggested to Putin not to rush. 'Come on,' I said, 'Let's talk with Prigozhin, with his commanders.' To which he told me: 'Listen, Sasha, it's useless. He doesn't even pick up the phone, he doesn’t want to talk to anyone'."

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Putin used the same Russian verb in 1999 about Chechen militants, vowing to "wipe out them out in the s---house," remarks that became a widely quoted emblem of his severe persona.

The Kremlin did not issue an immediate response to Lukashenko's remarks, which shed light on what was purportedly discussed within Putin's regime as Prigozhin's forces advanced toward Moscow. Before Prigozhin called off his armed rebellion, it was seen as the most significant challenge to Putin's rule in more than 20 years. 

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Lukashenko said he urged the Russian president to "think beyond our own noses" and that killing Prigozhin could inspire a wider revolt by Wagner troops. 

The Belarusian president also boasted that Wagner group fighters will be an asset to his own military now that they have taken up residence in Belarus. 

"This is the most trained unit in the army," BelTA state agency quoted Lukashenko as saying. "Who will argue with this? My military also understand this, and we don't have such people in Belarus."

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Lukashenko reportedly characterized his approach to the Wagner Group as pragmatic, telling his military officials that the mercenaries have "been through it, they'll tell us about the weaponry — what worked well, which worked badly." 

Prigozhin has not made a public appearance or comments since Monday, when he said that Belarusian leadership would permit the Wagner Group to operate "in a legal jurisdiction." 

Fox News' Caitlin McFall and Reuters contributed to this report.