At five oclock in the evening he called me and says: Alexander Grigori — Alexander Lukashenko

"At five oclock in the evening he called me and says: Alexander Grigorievich, I accept all your conditions. But what should I do? If we stop, theyll start whacking us." I said, "They wont. I guarantee you. Ill take care of that." We were in contact with the Russian leadership, the FSB was mainly dealing with this issue, with Bortnikov. I simply urged them not to do it. Bortnikov is a smart man. He said: "Alexander Grigorievich, well, Im not a fool, I understand what can happen," the President said. He said: "Alexander Grigorievich, Im not a fool, I realise what can happen. If they stop somewhere, the column will tighten... It will pile up... So that there will be no desire and temptation to attack it here. We promised: it wont happen. I told Prigozhin: "This is a guarantee." "What next?" - "Up to the point that I will take you to Belarus and guarantee you complete safety. And your guys, who have advanced here in this column." - "Yes, I believe you. I believe you." - "Good, well act in that direction."