Lukashenko says demands by Poland and Baltics for Wagner to quit Belarus are 'stupid'

FILE PHOTO: Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko visit the Valaam Monastery in the Republic of Karelia, Russia July 24, 2023. Sputnik/Alexander Demyanchuk/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

(Reuters) - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said demands by Poland and the Baltic states for the withdrawal of Russia's Wagner mercenary group from Belarus were "groundless and stupid", Belarusian state news agency BELTA reported on Thursday.

BELTA quoted Lukashenko as saying that opposition to Wagner's presence in Belarus was unjustified as long as foreign troops are stationed in Poland and the Baltics, which are all members of NATO.