Lukashenko answers important questions about Wagner PMC

Whatever the current risks and threats are, Belarusians have been fortune to build their future by fighting exclusively intellectual and labor battles, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said at a solemn meeting to mark Belarus' Independence Day in Minsk on 30 June, BelTA has learned.

"They are spinning this problem of PMC Wagner, a private paramilitary company. Calm down. If we could host them here (at their expense), it would be good for our army. These are the most trained people. Some say: ‘There are prisoners.' Listen, all their fighters from among convicts have already died, unfortunately. One more thing that they [in the West] do not want to notice: convicts were released from prisons in Russia only for the Russian front. Not a single person has gone abroad," Aleksandr Lukashenko said.

"So who are they, the Wagnerians? We go way back with them. Once we even detained 33 of them near Minsk in 2020. We let them go. They have been grateful to us ever since. They always light a candle in a church for Batka. We are not afraid of them. These are people who have been to the army, who have seen wars. These are the people who fought around the world for the normal civilization. The West hates them for their spirit. As soon as news broke out about their deployment to Belarus, a wave of calls has followed. From those who do not recognize us. They have started to call the dictator in Belarus: ‘This is a bad thing, this is a bad signal.' Why bad? Why is it bad for the French? Because these Wagnerians hammered the French in Africa (you know in which countries). Of course, they don't like it," the president said.

The head of state said that the Belarusian military would not mind if Wagner PMC shared their experience with them.

"Unfortunately, we don't have them here. If their instructors come to us (as I have suggested to them) and share their combat experience with us, we will be happy to learn from them. Some commanders are already saying, ‘Send us a couple of instructors. Let them help us, let them teach us.' I will tell you an absolutely unpopular thing: the army is only good when it fights. Why are Americans so successful, no matter how much we criticize them? Because they are constantly at war. They know what weapons to produce and buy. This is not our way. Fighting is not my way, much less yours. I'm not going to go to war. But I have been preparing for this war for almost 30 years, this is why we live in peace," the Belarusian leader stressed.