Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday expressed his "condolences" over a plane crash that killed Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, while denying that he was behind Prigozhin’s death, AFP reported.
"First of all I want to express words of sincere condolences to the families of all the victims," Putin said in a televised meeting, calling the incident a "tragedy".
"I knew Prigozhin for a very long time, since the early 90s. He was a man of complicated fate, and he made serious mistakes in his life, but he achieved the right results," Putin added.
He mentioned Prigozhin's work in Africa, where Prigozhin claimed to be earlier in the week, and where the Wagner Group maintains a significant military presence.
"As far as I know, he just returned from Africa yesterday and met with some officials there," Putin said.
On the crash itself, the Russian President said an investigation was underway and "will take some time".
"It will be conducted in full and brought to a conclusion. There is no doubt about that," Putin stated.
The circumstances of the crash, which also claimed the lives of some of Prigozhin's close entourage, have prompted furious speculation about a possible assassination.
Prigozhin was branded a "traitor" by Putin after Wagner launched its short-lived rebellion.
Putin on Thursday said the Wagner members who died in the crash made a "significant contribution" to Moscow's offensive in Ukraine and shared a "common cause".
"We remember that, we know that, and we will not forget that," Putin said.
Prigozhin, 62, led a mutiny against Russia's top army brass on June 23-24, which Putin said could have tipped Russia into civil war.
The attempted mutiny was ended by negotiations and an apparent Kremlin deal that saw him agree to relocate to neighboring Belarus, though he appeared to move freely inside Russia after the deal nonetheless.
On Wednesday, after the crash, US President Joe Biden said he was not surprised by the reports that Prigozhin had died.
Asked by reporters about the crash, Biden said he did not know for a fact what had happened.
"But I’m not surprised," Biden said, adding, "There is not much that happens in Russia that Putin is not behind, but I don’t know enough to know the answer."