Sklenar: We're Closely Monitoring Situation in Russia and Belarus

Bratislava, June 27 (TASR) - The situation in Russia and Belarus is being closely monitored by the Defence Ministry, Defence Minister Martin Sklenar assured the public on Tuesday. The latest developments will also be discussed by the Security Council on Wednesday (June 28). "The situation was a bit difficult to read over the weekend. We didn't know how far it would escalate," stated Sklenar, who thinks that it has calmed down in positive way. However, he finds it necessary to identify the specific factors that led to the de-escalation. Sklenar expects that similar unstable situations in Russia might reoccur in the future. "We want to be prepared as best we can. We're in contact with our allies and all forces of our state," he said. Boss of the mercenary Wagner group Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian military of shelling his troops with missile attacks before marching his forces towards Moscow at the weekend, threatening to overthrow the Russian military command. On Saturday (June 24), the situation was unexpectedly defused when Prigozhin announced that he had ordered his troops to return to their camps. The ceasefire and end to the crisis was mediated by Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko. mf/df