Belarusian dictator who negotiated the end of Prigozhin's mutiny says there's no way Putin is 'malicious and vindictive' enough to have him killed

• Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko said he doesn't think Putin will have Yevgeny Prigozhin killed.
• Putin is not "malicious or vindictive enough" to order the murder, said the close Putin ally.

The mercenary leader who staged a brief mutiny against Russia's military has nothing to fear, one of Vladimir Putin's close allies said.

Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko said on Thursday that he doesn't think Vladimir Putin would be so "malicious and vindictive" as to have Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin killed.

"What will happen to Prigozhin next?" Lukashenko said at a news conference, CNN reported. "Well, everything happens in life. But if you think that Putin is so malicious and vindictive that he will 'kill' Prigozhin tomorrow, no, this will not happen."

Putin knows Prigozhin "much better than I do," the Belarusian leader added.

Putin must have had a change of heart, because a week ago, Lukashenko bragged that he talked Putin out of assassinating the mercenary boss.

The Russian leader has a long history of brutal and violent crackdowns on those he sees as disloyal. His government is believed to be behind the attempted assassinations of the former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and opposition leader Alexei Navalny, among others.

Lukashenko, one of Putin's closest allies, negotiated the end of Prigozhin's armed rebellion against the Russian president's government last month. Prigozhin was also once a staunch Putin ally and used to be known as Putin's chef. But he turned on Russia's military leadership, accusing them of sabotaging the Ukrainian war effort.

Prigozhin launched a "march for justice" towards Moscow last month. It was the closest Putin came to losing his grip on power in over two decades, and Moscow was preparing for combat with Wagner forces. But Prigozhin announced he was turning back within hours of reaching Moscow, saying he did not want to risk Russian blood being shed.

Prigozhin has not been seen in public since June 24. But Russian media outlet Fontanka reported that he arrived in St. Petersburg on July 4 and was given back the weapons that were seized from him.

Lukashenko also insisted that Prigozhin is "free," saying Tuesday that they had spoken "several times on the phone" and discussed Wagner's "further actions."

He went on to tout Putin's apparently "good relations" with Prigozhin and the fact that the two men have known each other for "about 30 years."

The Kremlin, in turn, touted Lukashenko's relationship with Prigozhin. Lukashenko "has known Prigozhin personally for a long time, for about 20 years," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.