Lithuania, Poland and Latvia wrote to NATO about threats from Minsk
The Presidents of Lithuania, Poland and Latvia Gitanas Nauseda, Andrzej Duda and Egils Levits sent a letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and the heads of state and government of the alliance, urging them to take measures to counter the threats associated with the development of the situation in Belarus. Information about the appeal was released on Friday, July 7, by the press office of the Lithuanian leader.
“The ever-closer military integration” between Moscow and Minsk has worsened “the security of the region and of the entire Euro-Atlantic space”, stressed the authors of the letter. This refers, in particular, to the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus. This step is a flagrant violation of the Russia-NATO Foundation Act and confirmation that “this document is no longer valid”, the heads of the three states believe.
“The Belarusian people need a clear message from NATO”
Nauseda, Duda and Levits also noted that the expected transfer of Russian mercenaries from PMC Wagner and Yevgeny Prigozhin to Belarus would create “risks to political stability” in that country and, as a result, would be fraught with “a potential loss of control over conventional systems”. and nuclear weapons”.
The authors of the appeal believe that Belarus can also organize a new wave of mass migration of illegal immigrants from third countries to the EU. The Belarusian people need a clear message from NATO that a democratic, stable and prosperous Belarus, “not conquered by Russia and not used” in the Kremlin civil conflict, is important for the alliance, the letter says.
The presidents of the three countries called for a review of the concept of nuclear deterrence
The allies’ course must include reviewing nuclear deterrence, adapting to conventional threats emanating from Belarus, replenishing army stocks on the eastern flank, increasing defense spending above two percent of GDP, aligning spending with priorities of NATO, increasing the resilience of allies against hybrid threats, says the report, joint letter from the presidents of Lithuania, Poland and Latvia.
Alexander Lukashenko said on July 6 that if the Wagner private military company is deployed in Belarus, it can be used to defend the country. “I am absolutely not worried and not worried about the deployment of a certain number of these fighters,” Lukashenka said, stressing that if this happens, “under certain conditions”. “The main condition is that if we need to use this unit for the defense of the state (if they are here), it will be activated instantly in any direction,” added the Belarusian ruler.
Source: DW
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