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Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Saturday, June 24, 2023
Belarus says Putin thanked Lukashenko for negotiations with Wagner
Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko during their meeting in Saint Petersburg, on June 25, 2022. (Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP)
MOSCOW — Minsk says that Russian President Vladimir Putin thanked Belarus strongman Alexander Lukashenko after the chief of Wagner announced he was turning around his forces.
“The President of Belarus informed the President of Russia in detail about the results of negotiations with the leadership of PMC Wagner,” Lukashenko’s press service says in a statement, adding Putin “thanked his Belarusian colleague.”
The chief of the rebel Wagner mercenary force threatened to march on Moscow today before announcing a stunning pull-back, saying he did not want to spill blood.
