‘If Russia collapses, we will all perish’: Belarus President Lukashenko takes credit for ending Wagner group’s mutiny

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday said that “if Russia collapses, we will all perish,” after he was asked to explain his position on Moscow.Lukashenko has largely taken credit for mitigating the Wagner group’s mutiny against the Russian defence ministry. “My position: if Russia collapses, we will remain under the rubble, we will all perish," he said.The Belarusian leader, who has proven to be Russian President Vladimir Putin’s closest ally for supporting the country in the Ukraine war and by allowing Russian troops to invade it via Belarus, said, “The threat of a new global conflict has never been as close as it is today. They (West) are once again asking to blow up our country, our entire region, to disorient people.”"Unfortunately, our attempts to settle the situation through peaceful negotiations are now called a 'diplomatic imitation'. The price of this 'imitation' is hundreds of thousands of human lives," he added.Belarusian forces put on combat readinessExplaining the events that unfolded in Russia just three days ago, Alexander Lukashenko said that he was closely monitoring the attempted coup against Putin on Saturday.He also said that Belarus’ armed forces and the police were “put in on full combat readiness” in case things went south.“I won't lie, it was painful to watch the events that took place in the south of Russia. Not only me. Many of our citizens took them to heart. Because the fatherland is one," he told reporters.Lukashenko brokers deal with Wagner chiefOn Saturday, Wagner group’s chief Yevgeny Prigozhin receded their steps from Moscow after reaching halfway to ‘avoid bloodshed,’ hence effectively aborting his mutiny plan.A deal to halt further movement of Wagner fighters across Russia in return for guarantees of safety for the rebels was brokered by Lukashenko, his office said.Meanwhile, Russian authorities dropped charges on the Wagner group after Lukashenko struck a deal between the two parties.Prigozhin also accepted an exile in Belarus under this deal.Lukashenko’s office said in a statement, “The president of Belarus informed the president of Russia in detail about the results of negotiations with the leadership of Wagner PMC [private military company].”“The president of Russia supported and thanked his Belarusian counterpart for the work done,” it added.Meanwhile, Wagner group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s purported jet landed in Belarus on Tuesday after he announced an exile following an aborted mutiny led by the Russian mercenary group against the military.According to the flight tracking website Flightradar24, an Embraer Legacy 600 jet carrying the identification codes that match a plane linked to Prigozhin in US sanctions documents landed near the Belarusian capital of Minsk.Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.