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Lukashenko Dismisses Calls to Expel Wagner Troops From Belarus
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August 31, 2023
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0:56Now PlayingBelarus President Alexander Lukashenko shrugged off demands by Poland and the Baltic countries to withdraw Wagner Group mercenary troops stationed in his country.
Speaking at the security council meeting, on Thursday, Lukashenko said the demands are "unfounded and silly" and accused Poland and Baltic countries, themselves, of putting troops on the border with Belarus.
The interior ministers of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia demanded Monday that Lukashenko immediately remove the mercenaries from Belarus. They also demanded the removal of migrants from border areas and their return to their home countries.
The countries' interior ministers said Monday they were seeing growing tensions on NATO’s and the European Union’s borders with Belarus, which has taken in thousands of Russia’s military mercenaries and is pushing Middle East and African migrants into Europe, despite barriers having been put up.
NATO members Poland and the Baltic states will seal off their borders with Russia’s ally Belarus in the event of any military incidents or a massive migrant push by Minsk, the ministers warned.
The sudden death of mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin in a plane crash in Russia last week has raised questions about the future of the Wagner group, which Poland's Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski branded as “extremely dangerous” and “demoralized.” He also said the mercenaries pose a threat to the citizens of Belarus and the entire region.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Wagner fighters to sign an oath of allegiance to the Russian state, according to a decree published on the Kremlin’s website late Friday and effective immediately.
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