Lukashenko Says Issue of Relocating Wagner Forces Not Yet Resolved

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during his meeting with foreign correspondents, in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during his meeting with foreign correspondents, in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
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Lukashenko Says Issue of Relocating Wagner Forces Not Yet Resolved

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during his meeting with foreign correspondents, in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko speaks during his meeting with foreign correspondents, in Minsk, Belarus, Thursday, July 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday said the issue of relocating forces from Russia's Wagner mercenary group had not yet been resolved, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

Lukashenko, who last month brokered a deal to end an armed mutiny in Russia by the Wagner force, said Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin was now no longer in Belarus but back in St. Petersburg in Russia.

Lukashenko said his offer to accommodate some of Wagner's fighters in Belarus still stood. Russia has said they can go to Belarus, sign up with its regular armed forces or demobilize.

Prigozhin took control of the southern Russian city of Rostov-on-Don on June 24, seized the command center there where Russia coordinates its war in Ukraine, and sent a column of fighters towards Moscow before standing down after striking a deal with the Kremlin.

Russian state TV on Wednesday launched a fierce attack on Prigozhin and said an investigation into what had happened was still being vigorously pursued.

In a program called "60 Minutes" broadcast on Wednesday evening on the state Rossiya-1 TV channel, what was billed as exclusive footage shot during law enforcement raids of Prigozhin's office in St. Petersburg and one of his estates there was shown.



Russian Duma Speaker Volodin Meets North Korea’s Kim in Pyongyang

This picture taken on August 14, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 15, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center R) waving as chairman of the Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (center L), looks on as they attend a convention celebrating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan colonial rule in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on August 14, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 15, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center R) waving as chairman of the Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (center L), looks on as they attend a convention celebrating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan colonial rule in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
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Russian Duma Speaker Volodin Meets North Korea’s Kim in Pyongyang

This picture taken on August 14, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 15, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center R) waving as chairman of the Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (center L), looks on as they attend a convention celebrating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan colonial rule in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)
This picture taken on August 14, 2025 and released from North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on August 15, 2025 shows North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un (center R) waving as chairman of the Russia's State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin (center L), looks on as they attend a convention celebrating the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Korea from Japan colonial rule in Pyongyang. (KCNA via KNS / AFP)

Russian State Duma Chairman Vyacheslav Volodin met with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during an official visit to Pyongyang, the Russian parliament said on Thursday.

Volodin, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin, conveyed greetings from the Russian leader and thanked Kim for North Korea's support of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.

Putin held a phone call with Kim on Tuesday and updated him on planned talks with US President Donald Trump in Alaska on Friday.

Kim sent a reply to a letter from Putin that was delivered by Volodin to celebrate the 80th anniversary of liberation from Japan's colonial rule, North Korea's state news agency KCNA reported on Friday.

In the letter to Putin, Kim said the soldiers of North Korea and Russia formed "friendship and unity" in the battlefield to fight against "a mutual enemy" which he didn't identify, according to KCNA.

Pyongyang and Moscow have both confirmed the deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia's offensive against Ukraine to reclaim the Kursk region.

South Korea's intelligence agency said in June that North Korea was potentially ready to send more troops to Russia.