Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said the country’s National Security Council had approved new measures to strengthen the Latvian-Belarusian border. The announcement comes amid a rise in attempted illegal border crossings, LSM reported.
In an interview with Latvian Television, the head of state said the ministries of foreign affairs, interior and defence had been instructed to implement specific measures to reinforce border security.
“Concrete measures have been adopted, and you will hear about them soon,” he said.
According to Rinkēvičs, border security cannot be ensured solely through fences and technical surveillance systems. He stressed that the presence of mobile units capable of responding quickly to emerging threats is equally important.
“We are still at a stage where the technical surveillance infrastructure has not yet been fully completed, but neither the fence nor the infrastructure will achieve much if there is no rapid response unit,” the Latvian president said.
In his view, the situation on the Latvian-Belarusian border should be seen not only as a hybrid operation but also as a manifestation of organised crime.
“This is not just a hybrid operation; it is both a hybrid operation and organised crime,” he said.
Commenting on discussions about the possible restoration of border controls between Latvia and Lithuania, Rinkēvičs said such statements appeared to be primarily political.
“If we focus on internal border controls, all of us — Lithuania, Latvia and the other border states — will objectively weaken the security of the external border, and this can be exploited against that country at any moment,” he said.
He added that Lithuanian border guards are currently assisting their Latvian counterparts and that, should the situation change, Latvia could in turn provide assistance to Lithuania.