Belarus leader asks Wagner mercenaries to train his military

Lukashenko alluded to the invitation in a speech Friday dedicated to Belarus’ Independence Day, according to state news agency Belta.

“Unfortunately, they (Wagner mercenaries) are not here,” Lukashenko said. “And if their instructors, as I already told them, come and pass on combat experience to us, we will accept this experience, CNN reported.

In his speech Friday Lukashenko said he was not afraid of Wagner Group members as he had “known them for a long time.”

“These are people who fought all over the world to establish a normal civilization. The West hates them to the core,” he said.

He also warned a “world-scale military-political crisis unprecedented in the history of mankind” was brewing, and criticized the West for not recognizing the need for dialogue to resolve it.

He accused the European Union and the United States of “arming Poland at an accelerated pace” and said the West was making Poland into “a proxy training ground” to use against Belarus and Russia, likening it to Ukraine.

“Thus, another hotbed of tension is being created, another stronghold is being created for the aggression of the most aggressive country in the world and, unfortunately, the most powerful – the United States,” he said.

RHM/PR