The heads of Lithuania, Poland and Latvia are concerned about the situation in Belarus, related to the placement of nuclear weapons of the Russian Federation on its territory. Even bigger problems in this context can be added by the mercenaries of the "Wagner" PMC transferred there.
This is stated in a joint letter addressed to NATO, which was published on the official website of the President of Lithuania.
Thus, the heads of the three countries draw attention to the fact that cooperation between Russia and Belarus undermines not only the security of the region, but also the security of the Euro-Atlantic space. In particular, as noted in the letter, the territory and resources of Belarus are being used by Russia to wage a brutal and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, which indicates the increasingly close military integration of the two countries.
"The latest manifestations of this are the placement of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus, which exacerbates the situation in the context of the war in Ukraine and poses a direct threat to the security of our society. This is another gross violation of the NATO-Russia Founding Act, which clearly shows that this document has lost its validity." , the document says.
It also states that the transfer of Wagner PMC mercenaries and its founder Yevgeny Prigozhin to Belarus will pose a threat to the country's political stability, as well as "threaten a potential loss of control over conventional and nuclear weapons."
"Today, on the eve of the NATO summit in Vilnius, we need solidarity and unity so that we can face all threats according to the principle of a 360-degree approach. Including those threats brought about by the recent events in Belarus. We have to show Russia that we are we see and understand the threats, and that we are ready to take all possible measures to counter them," the letter specifies.
What is offered?
The leaders of the three countries propose several steps that will allow to settle the situation in the region. Namely:
- revision of nuclear deterrence and its adaptation to the new reality;
- inclusion of conventional threats originating from Belarus in the process of military adaptation of the Alliance;
- early placement of ammunition and weapons on the eastern flank of the Alliance;
- increasing defense spending to more than 2 percent of GDP and connecting this process with NATO priorities;
- increasing allies' resistance to hybrid threats.
The situation in Belarus
In May of this year, the defense ministers of the Russian Federation and Belarus agreed on the location of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus. Moscow plans to transfer to Minsk the Iskander-M missile complex capable of launching missiles with a nuclear warhead.
At the same time, the head of the Belarusian regime constantly expresses contradictory theses on this matter. Just a week ago, Lukashenko said that the tactical nuclear weapons of the Russian Federation "will never be used." In addition, the monitoring group "Gayun" stated that there may be about 200 "Wagner" mercenaries on the territory of Belarus.
In connection with these events, for example, Poland decided to send 500 law enforcement officers to its border with Belarus due to the tense situation, Ukraine also started strengthening its northern borders.
