Фото: mk.gov.lv
A group of 20 officers from Lithuania’s State Border Guard Service, accompanied by four service dogs, will travel to Latvia on Wednesday to help protect the European Union’s external border. Lithuanian Prime Minister Mindaugas Sinkevičius announced the deployment at a government meeting, LRT reports, citing ELTA.
He noted that one group of Lithuanian border guards had completed its deployment in Latvia, while a new team would continue supporting their Latvian counterparts.
“We will continue to help Latvia. Today one group of Lithuanian border guards returned from its deployment, and a new group is preparing to leave — 20 officers with four service dogs — who will contribute to our joint efforts to protect the EU’s external border,” the prime minister said.
Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava, who visited Lithuania several weeks ago, said that Riga was hoping for greater involvement from Vilnius in protecting the EU’s external border and countering irregular migration. According to him, Latvia would like Lithuania to send around 100 border guards.
Lithuanian Interior Minister Martynas Katelynas had previously said that Lithuania was currently unable to deploy that many officers to Latvia.
Latvia shares a border of around 172 kilometres with Belarus. Lithuania, Latvia and Poland have previously strengthened border security and erected barriers in response to increased migratory pressure.