The head of the Wagner PMC found a way to the heart of the Belarusian president through the stomach
According to the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov, the head of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko himself offered the Kremlin to mediate in resolving the situation with PMC «Wagner», because I've known Yevgeny Prigozhin for about 20 years. MK tried to figure out how this acquaintance could have happened.
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According to Prigozhin himself, his business began with the opening of a network selling hot dogs, but soon reached a new level. The businessman took up the organization of an elite «catering», which opened the way for him to the very top. In 1996, he opened the first elite restaurant in St. Petersburg «Old Customs». At the same time, he registered the catering company Concord Catering. In 1998, Prigozhin bought the old motor ship Moskva-177 for $50,000 and opened the New Island restaurant on it. In June 1999, the then Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Stepashin and the distributor of the International Monetary Fund Michel Comdessus arrived in St. Petersburg. The question arose as to where they could be adequately received. It turned out that the only decent place for a banquet of this level was Prigozhin's New Island restaurant. In 2001, President Vladimir Putin held talks there with French President Jacques Chirac, then with George W. Bush. There is also information that in 2003 Putin celebrated his birthday on the ship. Moreover, Prigozhin personally served plates to the president and his guests. “Putin saw how I made a business out of a stall. I saw how I do not disdain to personally bring a plate to the crowned persons, ”he recalled. Then he more than once was the organizer of government and presidential celebrations. In particular, on the occasion of the inauguration of Vladimir Putin in 2012. In 2009, Prigozhin opened a restaurant in the Government House.
Lukashenko was probably present at some of these banquets, so their acquaintance, at least visually, could have happened at the same time.
— They met in the Kremlin. — says political scientist Andrei Suzdaltsev. — The acquaintance happened a long time ago, since Prigozhin was a member of the circle of the President of the Russian Federation. Everyone knew each other there, of course, there were contacts.
These relations could be consolidated in 2020. Belarusian political scientist Yury Shevtsov told MK:
— I want to remind you that in 2020, during the political crisis in Belarus, there was a strange episode with the detention of a group of “Wagnerites” in Minsk. Then, probably, some significant contact between Prigozhin and Lukashenka was inevitable. The fate of these people could not be decided without the participation of Prigozhin.
Recall that on July 29, 2020, 11 days before the presidential elections in Belarus, Minsk reported the detention of 33 Russians in the Belorusochka sanatorium in the Minsk region. The Belarusian KGB called them mercenaries of the Wagner PMC. A criminal case was initiated against them for preparing a terrorist act, the Belarusian authorities suspected the “Wagnerites” of planning mass riots. Kyiv demanded their extradition, because, according to its information, they were participants in the hostilities in the Donbass. However, Lukashenka handed over the detainees to Russia.
It turned out that Ukrainian military intelligence, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, was behind the arrival of PMC fighters in Belarus. It was a special operation of Kyiv in order to lure them to Ukraine. Russians were allegedly recruited through shell companies to work in Venezuela. They were supposed to fly there by plane from Minsk, and the plane would land at Boryspil airport. However, the operation failed. Prigozhin certainly negotiated with Lukashenka, urging him to transfer the detainees to Moscow, and not to Kyiv. The negotiations were crowned with success.
-Yes, then there were contacts between Lukashenka and the leadership of Wagner PMC, Andrey Suzdaltsev confirms. “And they weren’t given away right away. I cannot confirm exactly the 20-year period of their acquaintance — Lukashenko hardly went to Prigozhin's restaurants. 10-15 years maybe. Prigozhin, of course, will not be under arrest in Belarus. I suspect that he will not stay in Belarus. He can simply “check in” there, fulfilling the agreements. Prigozhin is constantly moving, his troops are fighting. He will not sit in Minsk.