President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko said that he should not be frightened by the US and NATO in connection with the detention of the Russians, adding that it was not they who sent them here.
“We will solve this problem. There should not be any politicization”, – he said at a meeting on ensuring the security of the election campaign. His words are quoted by Sputnik Belarus.
According to him, “we do not need performances, either political or economic”.
“And no one also needs to scare us with the consequences. We know about all the consequences. They don’t need to scare us with the Americans, NATO. It was not the Americans or NATO who sent 33 people here, for that matter”, – Lukashenko said.
On July 29, the Belarusian authorities announced the arrest of 33 Russian citizens who, according to their information, are “militants” of Wagner’s private military company. Investigative Committee of Belarus clarified that the detainees were suspected of preparing mass riots in the republic. At the same time, according to the intelligence services, earlier information was received about the arrival in Belarus “of more than 200 militants to destabilize the situation during the election campaign”. The presidential elections in the republic are scheduled for August 9.
The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov later said that with a high degree of confidence it can be said that the Russians detained in Belarus are employees of the private security company, were in transit and missed their flight. The detainees, according to Peskov, did not commit illegal actions, and Russia did not interfere and does not interfere in the internal affairs of Belarus. Russian President Vladimir Putin and members of the Security Council, as Peskov specified, are counting on an early clarification of all the circumstances of the detention of the Russians and their release.