President Lukashenko Wants To Incorporate Wagner Group Troops Into Belarusian Contract Army

JAKARTA - Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on Tuesday he plans to speed up the formation of a contract army using Russia's Wagner Group troops as the backbone of the army.

"This is my initiative. I want these people to remain in the armed forces of our country," said President Lukashenko, citing Reuters, from BelTA, August 2.

At the same time, the Belarusian leader reiterated that his country has no will to fight

"We don't want war and I think everything will be fine. If the enemy sees that we are capable of retaliating, so they will suffer irrecoverable losses which are unacceptable to them, they will never attack," he said.

Meanwhile, Belarusian Defense Minister Viktor Khrenin said earlier, contract soldiers accounted for about 60 percent of the Belarusian army.

The two-year contract can be signed by those who have never served in the military, or those who have been drafted into the army.

According to previous reports, the Ministry of Defense of Belarus and the command of the Wagner Group outlined a plan for cooperation in the near future.

Wagner instructors and units are already involved in training missions. The Belarusian side has not disclosed how many Wagner warplanes are on its territory.