"Solved Case": in ISW explained why Putin met with Prigogin
Analysts indicated that Putin's meeting with Prigogin is incompatible with the critical statements of the Kremlin's representatives about the organizer of the military rebellion. According to them, this event undermines the previous efforts of the authorities to deprive Yevgeny Prigogine his role in Wagner PEC.
"The Kremlin may have sought to publish a meeting to answer a number of questions that arise about the ability of Prigogine to move freely by Russia without being persecuted," the ISW suggests. The authors of the report also believe that the recognition of the Kremlin meeting of Putin and Prigogine may be part of a large information campaign aimed at creating the visibility of full control and contacting Russians loyal to Wagner PEC.
"The Kremlin is probably seeking to present a rebellion, its possible consequences and calls to change the disparaged figures from the Defense Ministry's establishment as a resolved case," the American analysts summed up. On Monday, July 10, Libération reported, citing sources in Western intelligence that on July 1, Yevgeny Prigogine was a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Commander of Rosgvardia Viktor Zolotov and Russian external intelligence leader Sergei Narishkin.
According to journalists, the founder of Wagner PEC is now kept in custody in the Kremlin, where it was called up with the leading commanders of his organization. Later, the information about Putin's meeting with Prigogin was officially confirmed in the Kremlin. According to Dmitry Peskov, the meeting lasted almost three hours. During her, the President of the Russian Federation offered the "Wagnerivtsi" further options for their employment.