NATO to Moscow and Minsk: We are ready to respond to your threat
After the Belarusian reception of the commander of the Wagner military group Yevgeny PrigogineWith mediation that ended its last rebellion last Saturday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that the bloc is ready to defend itself against any threat from Moscow or Minsk.
Stoltenberg announced, after a banquet with leaders of 7 countries in The Hague, on Tuesday, that NATO sent a clear message to Moscow and Minsk that NATO exists to protect every ally and every inch of its territory, he said.
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He also revealed that NATO will decide to strengthen its defenses at a summit to be held next week in Lithuania in order to protect all its members, especially those bordering Belarus, Russia’s ally, explaining that it is too early to issue a final assessment regarding the repercussions of Prigozhin’s transfer with some of his forces.
And he believed that there was no room for misunderstanding in Moscow or Minsk regarding our ability to defend the allies against any possible threat, warning the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausida, of the danger of stationing Wagner fighters in Belarus.
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And he considered that if Wagner deployed its fighters in Belarus, all neighboring countries would face a greater risk of instability, he said, stressing that the West should not underestimate Russia despite the chaos that prevailed at the end of the week.
He stressed the importance of continuing to support Ukraine in the face of the Russian invasion, noting that the members of the alliance will chart a course for granting Kiev membership in the bloc.
Options for Wagner
This came after the alliance stressed, last Monday, its readiness to respond quickly in the event that the private military company, Wagner, moved to Belarus.
Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday, after leading a rebellion over the weekend that posed the greatest threat to the rule of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The former Kremlin ally, Wagner, created the most powerful private army and recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine.
And Moscow announced earlier yesterday that it had dropped all prosecutions against the group, although Putin had vowed last Saturday, hours after the military rebellion launched by his former ally Prigozhin, to inflict the most severe punishment on those he described as “traitors.”
However, he later returned and softened his rhetoric, leaving the fighters of that group, which participated strongly in the fighting on former Ukrainian soil, the door open in order to either sign with the Russian Ministry of Defense and work under the command of the army, or leave to Belarus, or return to their homes and families.