Lukashenko begins referring to Wagnerites as defenders of Belarus

Alexander Lukashenko, self-proclaimed President of Belarus, believes that the Wagner Private Military Company mercenaries, if deployed on the territory of Belarus, could be used for the country's defence.

Source: Belarusian regime-aligned news agency BelTA

Quote: "I am not concerned or worried that we will host a certain number of these fighters [from the Wagner PMC – ed.]. Moreover, they will be stationed under certain conditions. The main condition is that if we need to use this force to defend the state (if they are here), they will be deployed instantly in any area. And their experience will be in demand in Belarus."

Details: The Belarusian dictator also claimed that there would be no Wagnerites mutiny in his country, as there was in Russia. "As we say, there is no point in reading tea leaves. But I do not think that Wagner will rise somewhere and turn its weapons against the Belarusian authorities and the Belarusian state. Everything can happen in life. But I don't see such a situation today," he said.

Background: Earlier, Lukashenko claimed that Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner PMC, and the Wagnerites were not in the country at the moment.

He also announced plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in the near future to discuss, among other things, the "issue regarding Wagner PMC".

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