Belarusian President Invites Wagner Chief To Train Belarus Army.
Belarusian President Aleksander Lukashenko has invited Yevgeny Prighozin, the head of the Russian Private mercenary group Wagner, to train the Eastern European nation’s military.
The Belarusian leader alluded to this invitation on Friday during his speech at an event dedicated to Belarus’ Independence Day, Belta news reported. The autocratic leader who is considered the last dictator of Europe played a crucial role in mediating the tussle between the Russian administration and the private military group.
The brief but intense violence by the group across Russia was halted after the two sparring parties agreed on a deal brokered by Belarus.
“Unfortunately, they (Wagner mercenaries) are not here,” Lukashenko said. “And if their instructors, as I already told them, come and pass on combat experience to us, we will accept this experience,” the Belarusian President said in his Friday speech. In his address, Lukashenko also stated that he was not afraid of Wagner Group members as he had known them for a long time. “These are people who fought all over the world to establish a normal civilization. The West hates them to the core,” he said.
After an intense battle on Saturday night, an official statement came in which stated that Prigozhin has agreed to stop the infiltration attempt and accepted the proposal of the Belarusian president. “[Wagner Group boss] Yevgeny Prigozhin accepted the proposal of the president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, to stop the movement of armed personnel of the Wagner company inside Russia, and take additional steps to de-escalate tensions,” Kremlin said in a statement.
The deal between Russia and Wagner not only entailed that the Wagner chief will head to Minsk, but it also included the Kremlin dropping criminal charges against Prighozin.
Belarus has been an ardent supporter of Russia throughout the Russia-Ukriane war. Lukashenko’s presence as the mediator of the whole ordeal becomes even more apparent since he has known Prigozhin personally for 20 years. However, the Belarusian leader had a vested interest in dealing with the conflict. The Eastern European country has been suspicious of the Russia-Ukraine war spilling over its territory.
Lukashenko has time and again accused the West of arming bordering country Poland to cause unrest in Belarus. Hence Lukashenko stepped in to mediate the situation in Moscow since any conflict within Russia would be a “gift to the West”.
The world started concentrating on Belarus after Russia announced that it will be deploying its tactical nuclear weapons in the Eastern European country. While the Belarusian said on Friday that these weapons deployed by Russia might eventually not end up getting used at all, he maintained the stance that the country’s defence will be the top priority.
Last month, the Belarusian President said that the country would not hesitate to employ nuclear weapons in the event of aggression towards Minsk, Belta News reported. Hence, the threat of the possible use of nuclear weapons remains apparent.
Source: Republic World
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