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Lithuania may fully close border with Belarus over Wagner PMC’s presence, says president

Gitanas Nauseda stressed that the patterns of what needs to be done if the situation gets further complicated should be discussed in coordination between Poland, Lithuania and Latvia

MOSCOW, August 3. /TASS/. Lithuania may fully close its border with Belarus due to the presence of the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC) in the neighboring country, President Gitanas Nauseda said.

"We should not only talk about measures at the national level but also discuss the patterns of what needs to be done if the situation gets further complicated, including the closure of the border with Belarus. However, it should be done in coordination between Poland, Lithuania and Latvia," he said at a press conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki.

Earlier, the Polish authorities also mentioned the possibility of fully isolating Belarus. According to Morawiecki, 4,000 Wagner fighters - or "a little more" - may currently be stationed in Belarus.

Warsaw and Vilnius claim that Wagner may be used for staging provocative actions against Poland and the Baltic states, as well as against NATO’s entire eastern flank, or for exacerbating the migration crisis. Morawiecki speculated that Wagner fighters "may dress as illegal migrants in order to enter Poland and other NATO countries and carry out acts of sabotage there." "This is why we are relocating our troops to the country’s east to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO and the EU," the Polish prime minister pointed out.

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