The top of NATO reacted to the arrival of Prigozhin in Belarus

The North Atlantic Alliance has gathered “threats” from Moscow and Minsk

NATO is ready to counter the “threat from Moscow or Minsk,” the head of the alliance said after the head of the Wagner PMC left for Belarus. Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said that against the background of recent events, the Western bloc has strengthened the eastern flank and will protect “every inch of NATO territory.”

NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance is ready to defend itself against any threat from “Moscow or Minsk” and has increased its military presence on its eastern flank in recent days after Belarus received Wagner PMC head Yevgeny Prigozhin, The Guardian writes. .

“It is too early to make any final judgment about the consequences of the fact that Prigozhin has moved to Belarus and most likely some of his forces will also be stationed in Belarus,” Stoltenberg told reporters after a meeting of eight NATO leaders in The Hague. “What is absolutely clear is that we sent a clear signal to Moscow and Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally and every inch of NATO territory.”

Stoltenberg said that the North Atlantic Alliance is going to beef up its defenses at a key summit of all 31 NATO members on July 11 in Vilnius, Lithuania, to protect all members, especially those bordering Belarus.

“We have already increased our military presence in the eastern part of the Alliance, and we will take further decisions to further strengthen our collective defense with more high-readiness forces and more capabilities at the upcoming summit,” the NATO Secretary General said.

NATO responded to Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 by deploying multinational battlegroups to Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. They complement four more deployed in 2017 in the three limitrophe states of the Baltics and Poland to expand NATO’s presence from the Baltic to the Black Sea. On Monday, Germany said it was ready, if necessary, to deploy its troops permanently in Lithuania, writes The Guardian.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda warned of the danger of basing Wagner fighters in Belarus because, he said, “all neighboring countries will face even greater danger of instability.”

Polish President Andrzej Duda said: “This is really serious and very worrying, and we have to take very strong decisions. This calls for a very, very tough response from NATO.”

Stoltenberg added that the West “should not underestimate Russia” and said it was critical to continue to support Ukraine against Russia and that NATO allies would pave the way for Kiev’s membership in the alliance.

On Monday, Stoltenberg said he would convene an emergency meeting in the coming days to try to overcome Turkey’s objections to Sweden’s entry into the NATO military alliance in a last-ditch attempt to bring the Scandinavian nation into the bloc at the Lithuanian summit in July.

NATO expansion requires the unanimous approval of all members. Turkey accuses Sweden of being too lenient with groups that Ankara sees as a security threat, including militant Kurdish groups and people linked to the 2016 coup attempt.