MOSCOW, August 2. /TASS/. US statements that Washington would automatically blame Russia should Belarus-based units of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) attack Poland distort the reality of the situation on the ground, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram.

"Nothing has occurred yet in this particular case, and there are no actual events to assess, yet they (in Washington - TASS) already have their assessments at the ready. You know why? Because it’s not actual events that drive US assessments but the need to opportunistically shape positions to fit the prevailing narrative," Zakharova noted, commenting on remarks by Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington’s UN ambassador.

As an exercise in contrasts, Zakharova pointed out that for an entire week, "the White House has been unable to clearly say what happened in Niger." "As [White House Press Secretary] Karine Jean-Pierre has told the world, now is not the time to jump to conclusions. ‘The situation remains fluid. It is too soon to characterize the nature of ongoing developments,’" Zakharova said, quoting Jean-Pierre’s remarks about the situation in Niger. White House National Security Council Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said earlier that the US did not see any threats to the security of Poland and other European NATO members coming from Wagner PMC. However, Warsaw decided to strengthen Poland’s eastern border with Belarus following the arrival of Wagner fighters in the neighboring country. It was also announced that Poland, Lithuania and Latvia were determined to fully isolate Belarus if serious incidents involving Wagner occurred on the borders of EU and NATO countries. In the meantime, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko shrugged off Warsaw’s concerns about the presence of Wagner fighters in Belarus, calling them unfounded. According to him, they arrived at training grounds near the Polish border solely for the purpose of drilling Belarusian troops.