NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said this Wednesday that NATO is ready to protect every inch of Allied territory in the face of a possible threat to transfer some of Russia’s Wagner paramilitary forces to Belarus. to take.
In response to a possible deployment of Yevgeni Prigozhin’s private military company following last weekend’s uprising in Russia against Moscow’s military leadership, which resulted in an agreement for the Wagner group to base itself in Belarus, the NATO leader made significant statements, but insisted that the allies had strengthened the eastern flank in recent years to ensure security against any potential threat.
“We saw that some of these troops could be deployed in Belarus, but I think it is too early to draw any definitive conclusions”said Stoltenberg at a press conference with Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
“More importantly, we are sending a very clear message to potential adversaries, including Moscow and Minsk, that we are here to protect and defend every inch of Allied territory.”he added.
In this sense, he assured that NATO’s 31 members will strengthen their defense and deterrence during the next Atlantic Alliance summit in Lithuania on July 11-12 and remain vigilant about the activities of Prigozhin’s forces.
The Wagner group launched an armed uprising on Friday, which began with the unopposed capture of the strategic city of Rostov, in southern Russia, and continued with military columns heading towards Moscow, aiming to neutralize Russia’s military leadership.
The mission was aborted when the columns were already 200 kilometers from Moscow province, following an agreement brokered by Belarusian President Alexandr Lukashenko.
The agreement between the Kremlin and Prigozhin to contain the riot provided for the annulment of the criminal charge of armed rebellion against the leader of the Wagner group in exchange for his departure to Belarus, where he has been since Tuesday, according to Lukashenko .
Russian President Vladimir Putin also offered the mercenaries who rebelled alongside Prigozhin to go to the neighboring country, Moscow’s ally, or sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense or other Russian security services to subordinate themselves to the legal and official structures.
In his posts over the past few days, Prigozhin has publicly said that his rebellion was not aimed at overthrowing Putin’s government, but to force Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of Staff Valeri Gerasimov, whom he repeatedly accused of incompetence as a leader, out of the invasion to expel. of Ukraine, which started on February 24 last year, and even high treason.
The Wagner group led the way from the beginning of the invasion and played a leading role in the capture of Bakhmut, in Donetsk province (east), in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war in Ukraine, at the cost of high casualties, amid of Prigozhin’s open accusations of lack of military support from Moscow.
With Prigozhin believed to be in Belarus along with some of his mercenaries, Polish President Andrzej Duda reaffirmed on Wednesday that the Wagner group’s presence in this country could pose “a potential threat” to neighboring countries.
“It is difficult for us to exclude that the presence of the Wagner group in Belarus could pose a potential threat to Poland, which borders Belarus, a threat to Lithuania (…), as well as possibly to Latvia , which is also a neighboring country of Belarus”Duda told journalists in Kiev, where he is making an unannounced visit this Wednesday, along with his Lithuanian counterpart, Gitanas Nauseda.
Source: DN
