21 July 2023 , 20:29
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The tentative truce between Putin and Prigozhin is just a ploy to 'buy time' while the Russian president figures out 'how to deal' with the rebellion leader, says American CIA chief William Burns.
With photos surfacing of military mercenary chief Yevgeniy Prigozhin arriving in Belarus as per his agreement with the Russian president, world leaders, and intelligence officers are still on guard as they wait for Putin's next move.
"Putin is someone who generally thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold," Mr Burns said. "In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback, so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution."
Putin will likely still take revenge on Yevgeny Prigozhin, says US CIA chief (AP)Earlier this month, US President Joe Biden suggested there was a risk the Wagner boss could be poisoned. "If I were he I'd be careful what I ate. I'd keep my eye on my menu," the president quipped.
The CIA director echoed that line saying: "If I were Prigozhin, I wouldn't fire my food taster."
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On Tuesday, Russia ’s main domestic security agency, the FSB, said it had dropped the criminal investigation into last week’s revolt, with no charges against Prigozhin or any of the other participants, even though about a dozen Russian troops were killed in clashes. Russian journalists, protestors, and political rivals have died for less.
Prigozhin's march shook Russian leadership, as Putin hasn't had such a direct challenge to his government in a long time (ALEXANDER KAZAKOV/SPUTNIK/KREMLIN POOL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Some Kremlin watchers believe senior military officers could have backed his push for the ouster of Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and the chief of the General Staff, Gen. Valery Gerasimov. Or they simply decided to wait and see what happened.
“The Wagner mercenary boss was counting on solidarity from senior army officers, and since he came close to reaching Moscow without encountering any particular resistance, he might not have been completely mistaken,” analyst Mikhail Komin wrote in a commentary for Carnegie Endowment.
“It’s entirely possible that by the start of his ‘march for justice,’ Prigozhin believed he would find solidarity among many officers in the armed forces, and that if his uprising was successful, they would be joined by certain groups within the ruling elite.”
Russian law enforcement agencies might share this belief. Some military bloggers reported that investigators were looking at whether some officers had sided with Prigozhin.
One senior military official, Gen. Sergei Surovikin, who had longtime ties with Prigozhin, is believed to have been detained, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press, citing U.S. and Ukrainian intelligence assessments. It’s not clear whether Surovikin faces any charges or where he is being held.
Russian military bloggers reported that some border guards were accused of failing to put up resistance to Wagner’s convoy as it crossed into Russia from Ukraine, and some pilots also are facing possible charges for refusing to halt the convoy movement toward Moscow.