THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) – The NATO chief said on Tuesday that the might of Russia’s military should not be underestimated after the Wagner Group mercenaries mutiny over the weekend, and said the alliance was on standby in recent days raised to confront Russia.
Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance could decide to further strengthen its strength and preparedness towards Russia and its ally Belarus when NATO leaders meet in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius on July 11-12.
“So there is no misunderstanding and no room for misunderstanding in Moscow or Minsk about our ability to defend our allies against any potential threat,” Stoltenberg said.
The UN Security Council is urging Israel and the Palestinians to avoid actions that could further escalate tensions in the volatile West Bank.
The US imposes sanctions on four companies and one person linked to the Wagner Group. The Russian mercenary group led a brief uprising against the Kremlin last week.
The Russian mercenary group that briefly rebelled against President Vladimir Putin’s authority has for years been a ruthless force across Africa, protecting rulers at the expense of the masses.
Mercenary boss Yevgeny Prigozhin led an armed uprising against the Russian military – and got away with it.
At a meeting of eight NATO leaders in The Hague, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said neighboring countries would be at increased risk if the Wagner Group based its “serial killers” in Belarus.
Stoltenberg said it was too early to draw any conclusions about what Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin and some of his troops might do or whether they might all end up in Belarus.
Leaders agreed that given the short-lived revolt by Wagner fighters in Russia over the weekend, the allies should continue to bolster their forces along NATO’s eastern flank in a bid to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin from escalating his war.
NATO responded to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 by deploying multinational combat forces in Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria. They join four others deployed to the three Baltic States and Poland in 2017 to expand NATO’s presence from the Baltics to the Black Sea. On Monday, Germany said it was ready to permanently station troops in Lithuania if needed.
Rutte and Stoltenberg met the Presidents of Romania and Poland, as well as the leaders of Belgium, Norway, Albania and Lithuania at the Dutch leader’s official residence in a leafy suburb of The Hague.
Earlier Tuesday, Russian authorities said they had closed the criminal investigation into the failed armed insurgency led by Prigozhin and were not bringing charges against him or his forces.
The mutiny by Wagner Group forces lasted less than 24 hours but was the latest twist in a series of events that most threatened Putin’s seizure of power in the 16-month war in Ukraine.
The war prompted Sweden and Finland to seek NATO membership. Finland is already the newest member of the alliance, but Sweden’s membership is being held up by Turkey.
On Monday, Stoltenberg said he would convene an urgent meeting in the coming days to try to overcome Turkish objections to Sweden joining the military organization. This is a last-ditch effort to put the Nordic country alongside allies at the July summit in Lithuania.
For an expansion, NATO requires the unanimous consent of all members. Turkey has accused Sweden of being too lenient towards groups that Ankara says pose a security threat, including militant Kurdish groups and individuals linked to a 2016 coup attempt. ___
Lorne Cook and Raf Casert contributed from Brussels