At least two leaders from NATO countries—and one foreign minister—have publicly acknowledged concern about the recent plan for Wagner Group forces to relocate to Belarus.
The officials represent Poland, Latvia and Lithuania—three countries that share a border with Belarus.
News about some of Wagner forces being deployed to Belarus follows this weekend's Wagner rebellion against Russia. On Friday, Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the mercenary group, claimed Russia's military had killed about 30 Wagner troops in a missile strike, and he ordered his men to march on Moscow. The brief mutiny ended after peace was brokered on the agreement that Kremlin charges would be dropped against Prigozhin if he agreed to go into exile in Belarus.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko on Tuesday announced that Prigozhin had arrived in Belarus, where he is expected to set up a new Wagner base.
"The de facto relocation of Russian forces, the Wagner Group, to Belarus, together with its head Yevgeny Prigozhin, is underway," Polish President Andrzej Duda said, according to a Tuesday report by the Polsat News TV network. "These are very negative signals for us."
Polsat News reported that Duda also spoke of bolstering the security forces of NATO's eastern flank, especially Poland and the Baltic states, as a result of the Wagner move. He also called for NATO leaders to address the situation.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda made similar comments after a meeting in The Hague with six NATO allies, according to Reuters.
"If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighboring countries face even bigger danger of instability," Nauseda said, according to the news agency.
Nauseda's comments add to remarks he made on Sunday after a state security council meeting in Vilnius, Lithuania, which will be the host city for a NATO summit on July 11-12.
"If Prigozhin or part of the Wagner group ends up in Belarus with unclear plans and unclear intentions, it will only mean that we need to further strengthen the security of our eastern borders," Nauseda told reporters on Sunday.
"I am not only talking about Lithuania here, but without a doubt the whole of NATO," he added.
Latvia's foreign minister, Edgars Rinkevics, also commented on the mercenary group setting up in Belarus.
"This move needs to be assessed from a different security point of view. We have seen the capabilities of those mercenaries," Rinkevics said following a meeting in Paris.
Meanwhile, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg tried to minimize the concern somewhat and urged leaders to take a wait-and-see approach.
"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 Tuesday.
He added, "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 defense with more high-readiness forces and more capabilities at the upcoming summit."
Newsweek reached out to Lukashenko's office via email for comment.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
