Wagner: Prigojine appears in a photograph on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit in St. Petersburg

Would Yevgeny Prigozhin have stayed in Russia after his coup attempt last June? His right arm Dmitri Sytyi, head of the Wagner group in the Central African Republic, posted a photo on Facebook on Thursday of the boss of the militia all smiles, shaking hands with Freddy Mapouka, chief of protocol for the President of the Central African Republic (CAR) Faustin- Archange Touadéra on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit, opened on July 27 in Saint Petersburg.

According to Dmitri Sytyi, the leader of the private militia held a meeting in Saint Petersburg with Central African officials. Since 2018, the CAR has hosted members of the paramilitary Wagner Company in exchange for mining licenses. The photograph has not been authenticated at this stage. "Mr. The Ambassador shared with me the first photos of the Russia-Africa Summit. We see familiar faces,” he said in his post.

The rumor about the presence in Russia of the boss of Wagner, despite the agreement providing for his departure for Belarus after his aborted rebellion on June 24, had already been launched in early July by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko. “As for Prigozhin, he is in St. Petersburg. Where is he this morning? Maybe gone to Moscow, or elsewhere, but he is not on Belarusian territory,” said the head of state during a press conference.