Moscow, Russia

Russia mercenary group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, who turned his force against the military leadership in Moscow, will quit Russia and move to Belarus under an agreement brokered by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko, the Kremlin said on Saturday. 

All criminal charges against Prigozhin will also be dropped under the deal that ends the armed insurrection that appeared as the gravest threat to the authority of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

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"Avoiding bloodshed, internal confrontation, and clashes with unpredictable results was the highest goal," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Peskov further added that under the deal, Wagner fighters will also not be prosecuted. "We have always respected their heroic deeds at the front," he said.

"An agreement has been reached that Wagner would return to its bases," Peskov said, adding that those fighters who had not participated in the rebellion would be allowed to formally join the Russian army.

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Wagner chief Prigozhin orders his fighters to retreat

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, ordered his fighters to retreat from their advance towards Moscow to prevent any violent confrontation or avert the potential bloodshed. Prigozhin revealed on Saturday that his forces had made significant progress, covering a distance of 200 km (124 miles) within the past 24 hours, but he has now issued orders for them to promptly return to their respective bases.

This comes as Belarus claimed that President Alexander Lukashenko was able to persuade the Russian warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin to cease his march toward Moscow. If the claims are to be believed, it can lead to a potential end to the coup attempt in Russia, the first in the last 30 years.

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Media reports citing Lukashenko's press service said the president engaged in extensive negotiations with Prigozhin throughout the "entire day" after establishing a mutual understanding with Putin. 

Before his negotiations with Wagner's chief, he held talks with Putin and they agreed on joint actions and “additionally clarifying the situation through his own channels.”

The press service stated that Prigozhin has accepted Lukashenko's appeal to halt the movement. It said Prigozhin had “accepted [Lukashenko’s] request to “stop the movement of armed men from the Wagner company on Russian territory and [take] further steps to de-escalate the situation.”

“At the moment, there is an absolutely advantageous and acceptable way to defuse the situation on the table, with security guarantees for Wagner’s fighters,” Lukashenko’s press service said, as per media reports. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin thanks Lukashenko

Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Saturday, thanked Belarus leader, Alexander Lukashenko, after the chief of mercenary group Wagner Yegevy Prigozhin 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 released a statement saying as quoted by news agency AFP, adding Putin "thanked his Belarusian colleague."

(With inputs from agencies)

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