NATO allies decry presence of Wagner troops in Belarus

Eastern European NATO countries have warned that a move of Wagner’s Russian mercenary troops to Belarus would create greater regional instability.

“If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighbouring countries face even bigger danger of instability,” Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said after a meeting in The Hague with Stoltenberg and government leaders from six other NATO allies.

Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday under a deal negotiated by President Alexander Lukashenko that ended the mercenaries’ mutiny in Russia on Saturday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wagner’s fighters would be offered the choice of relocating there.

“This is really serious and very concerning, and we have to make very strong decisions. It requires a very, very tough answer of NATO,” Polish President Andrzej Duda added.

NATO’s Stoltenberg said it was too early to say what this could mean for NATO allies, and stressed the increased defence of the alliance’s eastern flank in recent years.

“We have sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally, every inch of NATO territory,” Stoltenberg said.

Also Read: Wagner chief Prigozhin begins exile in Belarus

“We have already increased our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance and we will make further decisions to further strengthen our collective defence with more high-readiness forces and more capabilities at the upcoming summit.” He said.

Stoltenberg added that the mutiny has shown that Putin’s “illegal war” against Ukraine had deepened divisions in Russia.

“At the same time we must not underestimate Russia. So it’s even more important that we continue to provide Ukraine with our support.” He said.

Poland’s Duda said he hoped the threat posed by Wagner forces would be on the agenda at a summit of all 31 NATO members in Vilnius, Lithuania, July 11-12.