„Zhenya, I will crush you like a cockroach“: Putin was furious that Prigozhin did not answer his phone, Lukashenko said

In the country with 22,000 nuclear warheads, the fate of the entire world could someday be decided over a missed phone call and a fit of rage.

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko has revealed startling details of negotiations with the renegade head of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Wagner mercenary army.

Lukashenko revealed that Vladimir Putin was furious that Prigozhin did not return calls during his armed adventure.

Lukashenko warned Prigozhin that he would be crushed like a cockroach if he tried to attack Moscow, and that the Kremlin would never grant his request to remove Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff General Valery Gerasimov, the Telegraph reported.

Prigozhin arrived in Belarus under a deal that ended his short-lived rebellion against the Russian army, the state-run Belta news agency reported, citing Lukashenko.

Lukashenko detailed his talks with Putin and Prigozhin on Saturday. According to the Belarusian president, Prigozhin was determined to advance with his fighters to Moscow, but quickly changed his mind after being informed by negotiators that he would face a serious response.

„I tried to convince him for a long time. And finally I said, “You know, you can do whatever you want, but don’t be offended. Our brigade is ready to be transferred to Moscow,“ Lukashenko revealed to state media.

Lukashenko explained to Prigozhin that even if he considered the riot a protest, the results of an attack could be catastrophic not only for Moscow, but also for neighboring nations.

He spoke to Putin by phone as early as 10 a.m. local time, after Wagner’s forces seized the military base of the southern Rostov-on-Don governorate and announced they were moving toward the capital.

Then Lukashenko realized that a „harsh decision“ had been made – to liquidate Prigozhin and his fighters.

„I advised Putin to take his time. Let’s talk with Prigozhin, with his commanders,“ Lukashenou clarified, stressing that the head of „Wagner“ rejected Putin’s calls and it was necessary to establish three communication channels with Rostov-on-Don in order to proceed with the negotiations with the mutinous soldiers.

Within an hour of his first conversation with Putin, Lukashenko was able to reach Prigozhin, who immediately picked up the phone and sounded excited about the opportunity to negotiate. The conversations were initially heated, and for the first half hour Prigozhin did not stop cursing.

After the situation calmed down, Lukashenko was able to negotiate an end to the rebellion by offering Prigozhin and his fighters immunity. Yevgeny Prigozhin agreed to go into exile in Belarus.

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