East Europe NATO allies say Wagner troops in Belarus spell trouble

Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Poland's President Andrzej Duda, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda, Romania's President Klaus Iohannis and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store attend a press conference after a working dinner for NATO leaders at the Catshuis, in The Hague, Netherlands June 27, 2023. REUTERS/Piroschka van de Wouw

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Eastern European NATO countries on Tuesday warned that a move of Wagner's Russian mercenary troops to Belarus would create greater regional instability, but NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance is ready to defend itself against any threat.

"If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighbouring countries face even bigger danger of instability," Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said after a meeting in The Hague with Stoltenberg and government leaders from six other NATO allies.