ＮＡＴＯ、加盟国防衛の用意　プリゴジン氏のベラルーシ入りで

【ハーグＡＦＰ＝時事】北大西洋条約機構（ＮＡＴＯ）のイエンス・ストルテンベルグ事務総長は２７日、ロシアで反乱を起こした民間軍事会社ワグネルの創設者エフゲニー・プリゴジン氏がベラルーシ入りしたことを受け、同国またはロシアによるいかなる脅威からも加盟国を防衛する用意があると表明した。（写真は北大西洋条約機構のイエンス・ストルテンベルグ事務総長〈左〉）
　ストルテンベルグ氏は、オランダ・ハーグで開かれた７か国首脳との夕食会後に会見。プリゴジン氏と、おそらく一部のワグネル戦闘員のベラルーシ入りから何らかの結論を引き出すのは時期尚早とした上で、「ロシア・ベラルーシ両政府に、ＮＡＴＯが全同盟国とＮＡＴＯ圏の隅々まで防衛するという明確なメッセージが伝わっているのは確実だ」と話した。
　ベラルーシに隣接するリトアニアのギタナス・ナウセーダ大統領は、ワグネルの戦闘員がベラルーシを拠点にする危険性を指摘。「近隣諸国が不安定化する危険が増大する」と述べた。
　ストルテンベルグ氏も、今回の反乱でロシア国内の混乱が露呈したものの、西側諸国は「ロシアを過小評価してはならない」とくぎを刺した。
　また来週リトアニアで開催されるＮＡＴＯ首脳会議では、ロシア・ベラルーシの隣接国を中心に全加盟国の防衛を強化することで合意する見通しを示した。
　さらに、ウクライナへの支援継続の重要性を訴え、同国のＮＡＴＯ入りについて加盟国の間で議論が進められるだろうと述べた。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/06/28-17:13）

NATO is ready to defend itself against any threat from Moscow or Minsk, alliance chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday, after Belarus welcomed Wagner rebel leader Yevgeny Prigozhin into exile.
Stoltenberg said NATO would agree to strengthen its defences at a key summit in Lithuania next week in order to protect all members, especially those which border Russia's ally Belarus.
It's too early to make any final judgment about the consequences of the fact that Prigozhin has moved to Belarus and most likely also some of his forces will also be located to Belarus, Stoltenberg told reporters.
What is absolutely clear is that we have sent a clear message to Moscow and to Minsk that NATO is there to protect every ally and every inch of NATO territory, he said after dinner with seven national leaders in The Hague.
So no room for misunderstanding in Moscow or Minsk about our ability to defend allies against any potential threat, and that is regardless of what you think about the movement of the Wagner forces.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda warned of the risk of Wagner fighters being based in Belarus.
If Wagner deploys its serial killers in Belarus, all neighbouring countries face even greater danger of instability, he told the news conference.
Mercenary boss Prigozhin arrived in Belarus on Tuesday, after a dramatic weekend revolt by Wagner fighters that posed the biggest threat of Russian President Vladimir Putin's rule.
Prigozhin, a former Kremlin ally and catering contractor, built Russia's most powerful private army and recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine.
Stoltenberg added that the West must not underestimate Russia despite the chaos at the weekend.
He said it was crucial to keep supporting Ukraine against Russia's invasion and that NATO allies would thrash out a path to Kyiv's membership of the alliance.
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, who hosted the dinner, rejected Putin's claims that the West wanted Russians to kill each other.
I refute what Putin suggested yesterday that we in the West want Russia to descend into domestic chaos -- on the contrary, instability in Russia creates instability in Europe, he said.