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Russia’s Wagner Group may perform “sabotage actions” and their menace shouldn’t be underestimated, stated Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Thursday, warning that the mercenary group’s provocations are an try to destabilize NATO.
Morawiecki and Lithuania’s President Gitanas Nausėda met on the Suwałki Hole to debate the menace posed by the Wagner forces, a few of whom have relocated to Belarus following the aborted mutiny in June in opposition to the Kremlin.
“Our borders have been stopping varied hybrid assaults for years,” Morawiecki stated. “Russia and Belarus are growing their quite a few provocations and intrigues with a view to destabilize the border of NATO’s japanese flank.”
Nausėda echoed the sentiment, saying the presence of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus is a safety threat for Lithuania, Poland and different NATO allies.
“We keep vigilant and ready for any potential state of affairs,” Nausėda wrote on social media. Morawiecki stated that the variety of Wagner mercenaries in Belarus might exceed 4,000.
The Polish prime minister additionally thanked Lithuania for “navy cooperation and for the joint promise that we’ll defend each piece of land of NATO international locations.”
“At the moment, the borders of Poland and Lithuania are the borders of the free world that stops the strain from the despotism from the East,” he said, about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ongoing struggle on Ukraine.
Nausėda stated that any closing of the border with Belarus is a call that needs to be taken “in a coordinated manner between Poland, Lithuania and Latvia,” nationwide broadcaster LRT reported.
Some Wagner troops have moved to Belarus from Russia beneath a deal to finish the group’s 24-hour insurrection in opposition to Moscow led by Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin. The transfer instantly sparked rigidity with Belarusian neighbors, prompting Poland to re-station navy items to the east of the nation, nearer to the frontier with Belarus.
Tensions escalated Tuesday when Poland moved troops to its border after accusing two Belarusian helicopters of breaching its airspace. Belarus denied the accusation, however Poland notified NATO and summoned Belarusian representatives to debate the incident.
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