Stoltenberg says too early to decide on NATO's reaction to unrest in Russia

PABRADE – NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in Lithuania on Monday that it is too early for the Alliance to decide how to react to last weekend's unrest in Russia. 

"It is a bit early to say exactly because things may still evolve," he told reporters in the Pabrade training area close to Vilnius. 

NATO is closely monitoring the situation and will be able to react quickly if necessary, according to Stoltenberg.  

The NATO chief underlined that the Wagner mercenary group's revolt against Russia's military leadership is an internal affair.

"What NATO is focused on is to support Ukraine," he said. "It (the revolt) demonstrates the fragility of Russia's regime, but it is not for NATO intervene in those issues."

President Gitanas Nauseda said after Sunday's meeting of the Lithuanian State Defense Council that NATO should bolster its eastern flank if Wagner's leader Yevgeny Prigozhin or its mercenaries actually arrive in Belarus.

After Prigozhin agreed to stop his troops' march on Moscow, the Kremlin announced that he would leave for Belarus.