The Latvian government will consider suspending operations at the "Paternieki" border crossing
On August 4, the Latvian government will consider a proposal from the Ministry of the Interior to suspend operations at the “Paternieki” border crossing on the border with Belarus. This is the only road border crossing on the Latvian-Belarusian border.
According to “Ukrainska Pravda,” citing Delfi and “European Pravda,” the Latvian Ministry of the Interior considers this step necessary to strengthen the country’s security, reduce the burden caused by illegal migration, and ensure more efficient use of the State Border Guard Service’s resources.
Latvian Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs stated that a hybrid attack is underway from Belarus toward Latvia. According to him, the situation at the border poses a real security threat to the country, and decisions should be made based on facts and statistics, particularly by assessing whether specific measures reduce the strain on the border and infrastructure.
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The Latvian Ministry of the Interior stated that Belarus has long been facilitating the uncontrolled movement of third-country nationals toward the European Union’s external border, posing a threat to Latvia’s security. The government plans to consider this proposal on an urgent basis.
Currently, border control at “Paternieki” is impossible. The official reason cited was technical malfunctions in the information systems detected on July 31. This year, nearly 8,000 migrants have attempted to enter Latvia from Belarus—almost nine times more than the number who attempted to enter Lithuania.
Kulbergs also stated that, in his opinion, “the top leadership of the Russian mafia” is behind the recent surge in attempts to illegally cross the border from Belarus into Latvia.
