Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko dismissed speculation Russian President Vladimir Putin would have Yevgeny Prigozhin killed

Wagner Group’s Yevgeny Prigozhin has returned to Russia with thousands of fighters, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday, dismissing speculation Russian President Vladimir Putin would have the mutineer killed.

Lukashenko helped broker a deal with Prigozhin to end the recent Wagner mutiny, which represented the greatest threat to Putin’s power in his 23 years as president.

As part of that deal, Prigozhin was meant to end the rebellion with his mercenaries and move to Belarus. In exchange, Putin would drop all charges.

Lukashenko said Thursday that Prigozhin may still be in Russia, denying that they may ever actually move to Belarus.

In spite of this, Lukashenko said the deal was upheld and he stood by his offer to host Wagner – a prospect which has alarmed neighbouring NATO countries – and would speak with Putin shortly.

Lukashenko added that the Russian security services likely kept a close eye on him.

While there had been speculation Putin may have wanted to “wipe out” Prigozhin, Lukashenko said that while some within the Kremlin may have wished to do so, Lukashenko said that this risked igniting a civil war.

“If you think Putin is so malicious and vindictive that he will ‘wipe him out’ tomorrow – to say it in Russian – no, this will not happen,” Lukashenko said.

“The fighters of the Wagner group are at their camps – their permanent camps – those where they have been located since they left the front.”

Wagner’s main camp is in southern Russia, at Molkino near Krasnodar.

Prigozhin said the mutiny was aimed at Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, not at toppling Putin.