(Dan Tri) – NATO countries in Eastern Europe warn that private military company tycoon Wagner Yevgeny Prigozhin’s move from Russia to Belarus could pose a greater threat in the region.
Wagner soldiers in Russia’s Rostov-on-Don during the riot on June 24 (Photo: AFP).
`If Wagner deploys forces in Belarus, neighboring countries could face a greater risk of instability,` Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on June 27 after a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and consul
At the meeting, Polish President Andrzej Duda also emphasized: `This is really serious and very worrying, we need to make decisive decisions. It requires NATO to give a tough answer.`
President Duda hopes that the topic of the threat from Wagner will be one of the focuses on the NATO summit agenda next July.
The warning was issued as some senior officials and experts said that Wagner’s presence in Belarus could pose a greater threat to the border defense system in the north.
According to an agreement with the Russian government after the failed rebellion last weekend, Wagner tycoon Yevgeny Prigozhin flew to Belarus on June 27.
Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko confirmed that Mr. Prigozhin is in this country.
NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg said it was too early to determine how this could impact NATO allies.
`We have sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO is there to defend every ally, every inch of NATO territory,` Mr. Stoltenberg said.
He added: `We have increased our military presence in the eastern part of the alliance and will make further decisions to further strengthen collective defense at the upcoming summit.`
According to him, Wagner’s rebellion over the weekend showed divisions within Russia over the `special military operation` in Ukraine.
In another development, according to the US Department of Defense, after last weekend’s rebellion in Russia, Wagner forces are still present in the Ukrainian battlefield.
`However, how they allocate positions, move or not move, we do not comment on that,` US Department of Defense spokesman Patrick Ryder said on June 27.
He also said that the US has not made any force adjustments after last weekend’s developments in Russia.