INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday spoke to his Belarus ally, President Alexander Lukashenko, in his first international phone
call since a mutiny by Wagner mercenaries inside Russia began."The president of Russia called the president of Belarus this morning, there
was a phone conversation," Belarusian state media reported."Vladimir Putin informed his Belarusian colleague about the situation in
Russia."Lukashenko, who allowed Russian troops to use Belarusian territory as a launchpad for their Ukraine offensive, has remained Putin's
closest ally.The Kremlin later said Putin also spoke to the president of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, and the president of
Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev."The president informed them about the situation [in Russia]," Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted
as saying by state news agencies.According to Kazakh media, Tokayev told Putin that events in Russia were a "domestic affair," and Putin
thanked him for his "understanding" of the situation.Putin, who has few allies on the international stage after invading Ukraine last year,
has called the Wagner mutiny a "stab in the back."
