Russian President Vladimir Putin declared in an interview that the Wagner Group "does not exist" anymore, less than a month after its founder, a former Putin ally, led a short-lived mutiny.

Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the Wagner Group leader, and a couple dozen of his troops met on June 29, five days after the end of Prigozhin's attempted rebellion.

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"On the one hand, at a meeting with them, I gave an assessment of what they did on the battlefield, and on the other hand, what they did during the events of June 24th," Putin told Russian media outlet Kommersant. "Third, he showed possible options for the further passage of their service, including combat use. That's all."

The group "does not exist," the Russian leader exclaimed. “We don't have a law on private military organizations! It just doesn't exist!"

"There is a group, but legally does not exist!" the president repeated. “This is a separate issue related to real legalization. But this is a question that should be discussed in the State Duma, in the government. Difficult question."

Prigozhin’s troops briefly took control of the southern city of Rostov-on-Don and a military headquarters building with little resistance, and subsequent reporting suggests that he had intended to apprehend Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Gen. Valery Gerasimov, both of whom he has publicly rebuked for months, and was forced to accelerate his timeline after Russian intelligence officials uncovered the plot.

The Russian leader offered the Wagner forces at the meeting the opportunity to continue fighting but within the Russian military.

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“They could all gather in one place and continue to serve,” Putin said. “And nothing would have changed for them. They would be led by the same person who had been their real commander all along."

In the lead-up to Prigozhin's attempted mutiny, top Russian defense leaders, whom Prigozhin had criticized relentlessly for months, sought to disband the Wagner force to fold them into the Russian military. Prigozhin's whereabouts are currently unknown.