WARSAW, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Poland and the Baltic states will close their borders with Belarus entirely if a "critical incident" involving Wagner mercenaries takes place, the Polish interior minister said on Monday, amid rising tensions on NATO's eastern flank.
EU and NATO members Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, which share a border with Belarus, have been increasingly concerned about border security since hundreds of Russian battle-hardened Wagner mercenaries arrived in Belarus at the invitation of President Alexander Lukashenko.
"If there is a critical incident, regardless of whether it is at the Polish or Lithuanian border, we will retaliate immediately.
Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite told media that there were two criteria that could lead to a border closure.
Poland has closed all but one border crossing point with Belarus this year following the imprisonment of a journalist of Polish origin and expulsions of Polish diplomats.
Persons:
Wagner, Alexander Lukashenko, Mariusz Kaminski, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Agne Bilotaite, Bilotaite, Alan Charlish, Pawel Florkiewicz, Marek Strzelecki, Andrius, Conor Humphries, Nick Macfie
Organizations:
WARSAW, EU, NATO, Wagner Group, Lithuanian, Thomson
Locations:
Poland, Baltic, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Minsk, Latvian, Estonian, Lithuanian, Belarusian, Russia, Europe, East, Africa, Warsaw, Andrius Sytas, Vilnius