Vladimir Putin has warned "any blackmail is doomed to failure" - days after an tried rise up led by Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The Russian president - chatting with the nation from the Kremlin on Monday evening - condemned the "criminal acts" orchestrated by Prigozhin's troops.
But Putin insisted that any armed rise up would have been suppressed - and steps had been instantly taken to "neutralise the risk that had arisen.
Reaction to Putin's assertion - stay updates
Putin thanked the Russian public for its "support, patriotism and solidarity" - and mentioned there had been a coming collectively that had "saved" the nation.
"Virtually the entirety of Russian society, all of them, have been united in the face of the responsibility to defend the homeland," Putin claimed.
He expressed gratitude to Belarus's president Alexander Lukashenko for serving to to convey the disaster to a "peaceful resolution".
The Russian chief mentioned that the majority Wagner mercenaries had been "patriots" - and claimed that they had been inspired by organisers of the plot "to fight against their compatriots".
He added: "By turning again [from their march on Moscow], they averted additional bloodshed. We have to consider the individuals who truly determined to take this step, which might have had tragic and devastating penalties for Russia as an entire.
"I would like to thank those commanders and soldiers of the Wagner private company who took the right decision to stop and go back, and prevent bloodshed."
Read extra:Russia civil unrest triggered by Wagner mercenary mutiny provides hope to UkrainiansThe former sizzling canine vendor and thug who turned Wagner boss at centre of mutinyPrigozhin's rise up triggers Putin's most severe home disaster since his invasion of Ukraine
'Revenge for failure'
He additional claimed that "neo-Nazis in Kyiv and the West" had wished Russian troopers to kill one another and divide its society.
During the quick, five-minute tackle, Putin claimed Ukraine had been concerned within the weekend's occasions and referred to as the revolt "revenge for their failure at the front - but they slipped up, they made a mistake".
Towards the tip of his speech, Putin immediately addressed the mercenaries and mentioned they had been now confronted with a alternative - both to proceed serving the Russian army by coming into right into a contract with the ministry of defence, or they might return dwelling to their households.
He mentioned: "It is the choice of each of you, a choice of the warriors of Russia who have acknowledged their fault."
A late-night tackle from Vladimir Putin providing Wagner fighters a alternative: signal a contract with the ministry of defence, return dwelling, or go to Belarus.
The president didn't title Yevgeny Prigozhin - he tends to not title males he considers his enemy - however he did say that his armed rise up was precisely what Russia's enemies, Kyiv and the West, wished: fratricide, Russians spilling Russian blood. A felony act overcome solely by the consolidation of society, he mentioned.
Not that the Russian public had had a lot to do with any of this. Prigozhin had pulled his males again, after what seems to have been a great deal of mediation by numerous intermediaries, not simply Alexander Lukashenko.
Putin fears a fractured society and he desires to emphasize that makes an attempt to divide the nation will get nowhere. But Saturday confirmed there are important cracks - nevertheless Putin papers over them.
The nation anticipated Putin to offer them a way of course. This was an odd midway home, saying tons and nothing in any respect.
Prigozhin's final destiny remains to be unclear, however Alexander Lukashenko is because of give a speech on Tuesday. Perhaps we'll discover out extra then.
Prigozhin mentioned earlier on Monday that he ordered his fighters to halt their advance on Moscow as a result of he "did not want to shed Russian blood" and by no means meant to overthrow the federal government.
He additionally mentioned Lukashenko in Belarus had "extended his hand and offered to find solutions for the further operation of Wagner in a legitimate jurisdiction".
But Prigozhin didn't provide any particulars about the place he was, or what his future plans are.
It comes after the Kremlin mentioned it had made a deal for the Wagner chief to maneuver to Belarus and obtain amnesty, alongside along with his troops.
Meanwhile, a high White House official has denied that the US had any involvement in Saturday's rise up - and mentioned it had "good, direct communication with the Russians over the weekend".
US President Joe Biden additionally mentioned earlier that it was essential leaders gave Putin "no excuse" responsible the mutiny on the West or NATO.
"We made it clear we were not involved," the president mentioned. "We had nothing to do with it.
"This was a part of a wrestle throughout the Russian system."
Content Source: information.sky.com
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