These forces are expected to help combat illegal migration.
The border checkpoint has been non-operational since Friday
Latvia’s Paternieki checkpoint has been non-operational since Friday due to technical difficulties, but it is announced that efforts are being made to resolve the issues today.
A. Kulbergs told journalists during a government meeting break that in August the Ministries of the Interior and Defense will take significant preventive measures to reduce the flow of illegal migrants crossing the Latvian border from Belarus.
The Prime Minister also emphasized that to ensure national security, the government is considering all possible ways to address the problem of illegal migration.
This means that the closure of the Paternieki border control point is one of the options, although “at the moment we do not confirm this, as the flow of illegal migrants is not at that specific border checkpoint, but elsewhere,” said A. Kulbergs.
Asked to what extent economic considerations influence the decision not to close the Paternieki checkpoint for now, the Prime Minister replied that security is the main priority.
J. Dombrava also confirmed that an agreement was reached for even closer cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the National Armed Forces to prevent attempts to illegally enter Latvia from Belarus.
“We are also considering various other options on how we can act to reduce this number (of illegal migrants) to zero,” said the minister.
Asked to comment on the fact that the government has not yet made a decision on his proposal to close the Paternieki border checkpoint, J. Dombrava responded that suspending operations at this specific border checkpoint was one of the options. At the same time, he welcomed that the opinions of various institutions on this matter were taken into account.
“At the moment it is not being considered, but it is one of several options we can consider,” added J. Dombrava.
Speaking about the circumstances under which the government could revisit this issue, J. Dombrava said that similar decisions have been made in other countries when problems at border control points escalated.
A. Kulbergs agreed, noting that it is necessary to assess which methods are most effective in achieving the goal. However, “we will never reach zero,” he said, commenting on J. Dombrava’s opinion.
At the same time, most efforts must be focused on the use of technical means at the border. Information about planned actions, which will also involve the National Armed Forces, will be provided later in August.
“In this regard, the Minister of Defense announced that exercises will also be conducted, and allied forces will be deployed much closer to the border. These military exercises will be used to strengthen border protection,” emphasized the Prime Minister.
Last Friday, the technical problems identified at the Paternieki checkpoint have not yet been resolved, but information available to J. Dombrava indicates that efforts will be made today to completely eliminate them. It is reported that the specific problems are related to mobile network coverage.
It has been reported that the Ministry of the Interior urged the government to suspend operations at the Paternieki border control point on the Latvia-Belarus border. If the government had supported the ministry’s proposal, it would have effectively meant a ban on residents and freight vehicles traveling from Latvia to Belarus.
Paternieki is currently the only official border control point on the Latvia-Belarus border located by the highway.
Meanwhile, the Indra border checkpoint, used only by freight trains, continues to operate.
Passengers have not been able to travel to Belarus by plane for several years.
LETA also reported that technical failures in information systems were detected at the Paternieki border control point, making it impossible to carry out border checks.
Earlier on Tuesday, Viktors Zakis, a representative of the Latvian Road Transport Directorate (ATD), told the news agency LETA that with the Paternieki checkpoint not operating, Latvian carriers are looking for Lithuanian and Polish carriers who could take over the cargo so that Latvian companies can reduce losses.
Latvian carriers mainly used the Paternieki border checkpoint to enter Belarusian territory to transfer cargo intended for Central Asia to another carrier.
The Lithuanian National Association of Road Carriers “Linava” in turn reported on Monday that Riga closed the Paternieki checkpoint without prior notice.
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