Hague: Alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg stated on Tuesday that NATO is prepared to defend itself from any threat posed by "Moscow or Minsk," after Belarus welcomed leader of the Wagner rebels Yevgeny Prigozhin into exile.

At a crucial summit in Lithuania the following week, Stoltenberg predicted that NATO would agree to bolster its defences in order to protect all of its members, particularly those that border Belarus, an ally of Russia.

According to Stoltenberg, it is still too early to draw any conclusions about the effects of Prigozhin's move to Belarus and the likelihood that some of his forces will follow suit.

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In The Hague, he had dinner with seven national leaders. "What is absolutely clear is that we have sent a clear message to Moscow and to Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally and every inch of NATO territory," he said.
So regardless of what you think about the movement of the Wagner forces, there can be no mistaking our ability to defend allies against any potential threat in Moscow or Minsk.

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Gitanas Nauseda, the president of Lithuania, expressed concern that Wagner fighters could be based in Belarus.
He stated at the press conference that all nearby countries would be even more at risk of instability if Wagner sent its serial killers to Belarus.
Following a dramatic weekend revolt by Wagner fighters that posed the biggest threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin's rule, mercenary boss Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday.

Former Kremlin ally and caterer Prigozhin created the most powerful private army in Russia and enlisted thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine. Despite the mayhem at the weekend, Stoltenberg continued, the West "must not underestimate Russia."

He declared that continuing to support Ukraine in the face of Russia's invasion was essential and that NATO allies would work out a way for Kyiv to become a member of the alliance.

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The dinner's host, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, refuted Putin's assertions that the West wanted Russians to kill one another.
"I refute what Putin suggested yesterday that we in the West want Russia to descend into domestic chaos — on the contrary, instability in Russia creates instability in Europe," he declared.