Lukashenko speaks about security guarantees for Prigozhin

President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of private military company (PMC) Wagner, never asked him for security guarantees.

According to Lukashenko, he never discussed personal security guarantees when talking to Prigozhin.

"To answer this question directly: I don't have to ensure Prigozhin's security,” Belarus President said.

Alexander Lukashenko also shared a few details about his negotiations with Prigozhin during PMC Wagner's armed coup. According to Lukashenko, he offered to send him a rope and a bar of soap, as Prigozhin was assuring Lukashenko that he was not afraid to die, BelTA reports.

"I told him: "Zhen (short for Evgeny — ed.), do you understand that you will kill people and die yourself?” He just returned from the front and he told me: "To hell with it, I'll die!" Then I offered sending him a rope and a bar of soap." "No, no, no. I don't want it like that. I will die a hero,” he responded," Lukashenko said.

PMC Wagner will remain in Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko also said that PMC Wagner would remain in Belarus.

"Wagner lived, Wagner lives and Wagner will live in Belarus, no matter whether someone may not like it. Prigozhin and I developed a system for Wagner to be deployed in our country. Those satellite images from space showing us dismantling something ... We remove extra tents because so many of them are not needed. The core will remain here. Someone went on vacation, someone else decided to live on the sidelines, but telephone numbers, addresses, passwords, and appearances - all that is well known in this core. Everyone - up to 10,000 people - will be here within a few days. For the time being, there is no need to keep them here, and they are not running anywhere. They will live and work with us for as long as we need the unit," Lukashenko said.