Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the private military company Wagner Group, has denied he had any intention to overthrow the Russian government last weekend.

Prigozhin ordered a march to Moscow in an armed uprising as his feud with Russia's defense ministry escalated.

He disappeared after sending out a voice message late Saturday that he had ordered his fighters back to their bases.

In a new voice message posted on Monday on social media, Prigozhin indicated his group planned to stage a protest, not a coup to topple the Russian government.

Prigozhin said Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko offered to help find a solution, in an apparent indication he wants to continue the Wagner Group's activities.

The Russian presidential office said Prigozhin would move to Belarus.

President Vladimir Putin said in a speech on state-run TV on Monday evening that the mutiny would have been suppressed in any case.

He said the organizers of the mutiny had betrayed Russia and the Russian people.

Putin thanked the Wagner fighters who "made the only right choice" and turned back. He said they can either continue their service by entering into a contract with the Russian defense ministry, or relocate to Belarus.