Latvia’s Cabinet of Ministers on Tuesday approved a draft decision from the Interior Ministry to state that as of March 19, Latvia’s border crossing points with Russia and Belarus – Paternieki, Grebneva and Terehova – can only be crossed by motor vehicles.
The ministry acted after receiving a proposal from the National Border Guard on partial restrictions along Latvia’s border with Russia and Belarus – Paternieki in the town of Kraslava and Grebneva and Terehova in Ludza. The aim is to close the border to crossings by pedestrians and cyclists.
The draft decree does not state how long the restrictions are to stay in place.
An annotation to the draft document says that the partial closure is needed because of the geopolitical situation that involves Russia’s military actions in Ukraine. The ministry stresses the need to reinforce border protections and improve the organisation of border controls at border crossing points.
“The war against Ukraine that was launched by Russia and openly support by Belarus must be seen as a risk factor and a possible motivation for both countries to continue their efforts to destabilise the situation on the border with Latvia,” the Interior Ministry declared. It cited Finland as an example of similar border closures. When Finland experienced skyrocketing numbers of people trying to cross the border from Russia on bikes and scooters, it forbade people to do so on foot.
“It is, therefore, essential for Latvia to take a common approach with regard to the effectiveness of border controls at Latvia’s borders with Belarus and Russia and at existing border crossing points,” the annotation states. “The assumption is that Russia is using hybrid warfare tactics at the border with Finland and can repeat the scenario of triggering a migrant crisis. This was already used along the border between Belarus and other EU member states.”
Source: BNS
(Reproduction of BNS information in mass media and other websites without written consent of BNS is prohibited.)