"I thank the soldiers and commanders of Wagner for choosing the right option of stopping at the last line, not allowing fratricide and bloodshed," Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a five-minute speech on the night of June 26.

Mr Putin gave Wagner members a number of options: "continue to serve the country by signing a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense or another law enforcement agency, return to family and friends or go to Belarus if they wish".

"Russia's enemies want fratricide to break out, including neo-Nazis in Kiev and their Western patrons, as well as traitors to the country. They want Russian soldiers to kill each other," Mr Putin said.

President Putin said that the Wagner rebellion last weekend "would have been suppressed anyway", but he chose what he considered the optimal option to "avoid serious bloodshed".

"All sides need time, especially for those who made mistakes to wake up and realize that their behavior is not acceptable to society, that such adventurous actions only bring catastrophic consequences and destroy the country," Mr. Putin said.

"The organizers of the rebellion betrayed the country and the people, lured their comrades into committing crimes, deceived them and drove them to death," President Putin said, without directly mentioning Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group and the commander of the troops involved in the June 24 rebellion.

The Russian President affirmed that all sectors of Russian society in the recent event showed a resolute stance in support of the constitutional order, and at the same time commented that the rebellion made Russian people more united and more responsible for the country.

"I am grateful to all military personnel, law enforcement agencies and special forces, especially those who participated in the counter-insurgency operation," Putin said. "The courage and selfless sacrifice of the fallen heroic pilots helped protect Russia from a terrible tragedy."

President Putin's speech came hours after Prigozhin also spoke for the first time since the riots. Wagner reiterated that the June 24 events were "protests" and denied accusations of plotting to overthrow the government.

President Joe Biden said on June 26 that it was too early to predict how the Wagner rebellion situation would develop in the future, but affirmed that the US would ensure that "our allies and partners are closely aligned in monitoring and responding to the situation."

Mr Biden also said it was necessary to ensure that Russia had no reason to blame the West or NATO. "We have made it clear that we had nothing to do with the riots," Mr Biden said, describing it as an internal Russian matter.

Thousands of Wagner troops entered Russian territory on June 24 after Prigozhin accused Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu of ordering the attack on the corporation’s barracks, causing heavy casualties. The Russian Defense Ministry denied this information.

Wagner marched 780 km in nearly a day, capturing military bases in the southern Russian cities of Rostov-on-Don and Voronezh. When he was about 200 km from Moscow, Prigozhin decided to withdraw his troops to avoid bloodshed, after reaching an agreement with the Kremlin through the intermediary of Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

Russian news agencies said the investigation into Prigozhin by security agencies has not been closed, even though boss Wagner has reached an agreement with the Kremlin.

Thanh Danh (According to TASS, Reuters, CNN, AFP )