No One Will Give You Shoigu or Gerasimov: Lukashenko Reveals Details of Conversation with Prigozhin

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko provided details today, June 27, about his conversation with Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner private military company, including the demands made by Prigozhin.

“I said, ‘What do you want?’ He replied, ‘I want nothing, Alexander Grigoryevich. Just let me meet with Shoigu and Gerasimov. And I need to meet with Putin.’ I said, ‘Zhenya, no one will give you Shoigu or Gerasimov, especially not in this situation. You know just as well as I do that Putin will not meet with you, nor will he speak to you on the phone under these circumstances.’ He fell silent,” said Lukashenko.

This was reported by BELTA.

According to him, Prigozhin said: “But we want justice; they want to suffocate us. We are going to Moscow.”

“I replied, ‘Halfway down the road, you will be cut off abruptly, like a caterpillar. Although the troops (which Putin has informed me about for a long time) are concentrated on the appropriate front.’ Think about it, I said. ‘No’ is an euphoria of sorts,” the Belarusian president narrated.

He noted that it took a long time to convince Prigozhin: “And finally, I said, ‘You know, you can do whatever you want. But don’t take offense at me; the brigade is preparing to move to Moscow. And just like in 1941 (after all, you read books, you are a cultured, intelligent man), we will defend Moscow. Because this situation is not only in Russia. Not only because it is our homeland, but God forbid, if this turmoil spreads throughout Russia (and the preconditions were enormous), we would be next.’

“The campaign of Soviet power is the same. About 100,000 Bolsheviks turned Russia upside down. Without weapons. I ask myself, ‘Is everything that good in our Russia?’ No, it’s not. There are more than enough reasons for this turmoil to start, roll through all of Russia, and reach us. They must be held back. And it emerged,” Lukashenko said.