Presidents Gitanas Nausėda of Lithuania, Andrzej Duda of Poland and Egils Levits of Latvia have sent a joint letter to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and member states’ leaders to warn them of the threats posed the developments in Belarus.
In the letter, the three leaders say that cooperation between Moscow and Minsk undermines the security of the region and the entire Euro-Atlantic area, Nausėda’s office said in a press release on Friday.
The presidents note that Russia has been using Belarus’ territory and its resources for its illegal and brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, which shows increasingly closer military integration between the two countries.
“Its recent manifestation has been the deployment of tactical nuclear weapons on the territory of Belarus. It presents an escalatory move in the context of the war in Ukraine and a direct threat to the security of our community,” the letter reads.
“This is yet another flagrant violation of the NATO-Russia Framework Act and a living proof that this document is no longer in force.”
Nausėda, Duda and Levits also warn that relocation of Russian Wagner Group mercenaries and Yevgeny Prigozhin, their leader, to Belarus “would generate risks for the political stability in Belarus and in consequence a potential loss of control over conventional and nuclear weapons”, according to the press release.
The presidents also note that “the arrival of Prigozhin’s mercenary group in Belarus after the failed coup in Russia could also serve as an incentive for Belarus to resume its efforts to trigger a new wave of migration and a humanitarian crisis on the EU’s borders”.
“Today, ahead of the NATO Summit in Vilnius, we need solidarity and unity to counter all threats in line with the 360-degree principle. Including those brought about by the recent developments in Belarus,” the letter reads.
“We must show Russia that we see and understand them and that we are ready to use all possible means to counter them.”
The three presidents also say that the people of Belarus need a clear message from NATO that “a democratic, stable and prosperous Belarus, not subdued by Russia and exploited by the Kremlin’s infighting, is important to the Alliance”.
“The actions that we propose will not only improve allied security but will also correspond with the democratic aspirations of the Belarusian nation,” the leaders wrote.
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in June that Moscow was planning to start deploying tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus on July 7-8.
Lithuania’s concerns about the situation in Belarus have also been stoked recently by the Kremlin's announcement that Prigozhin would relocate to Belarus after the group’s failed mutiny in Russia.
Some Wagner mercenaries have also been allowed to move to Belarus, but it is unclear if and when this will happen.
Alexander Lukashenko, Belarus’ authoritarian leader, said on Thursday that the Wagner chief was still in Russia.
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