If the government approves the ministry’s proposal, it will essentially mean that residents and freight trucks will no longer be able to travel from Latvia to Belarus.
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Paternieki is currently the only official border control point on the Latvia-Belarus border, located on a highway section.
Meanwhile, the Indra border point, used only by freight trains, continues to operate.
Passengers have not been able to fly to Belarus for several years.
The draft resolution prepared by the Ministry of the Interior has already been submitted for consideration by the Cabinet of Ministers.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, such a measure is necessary to ensure Latvia’s territorial integrity, prevent threats to national security, assist the State Border Guard Service in carrying out its duties related to the prevention of illegal border crossing, and also optimize the resources available to the State Border Guard Service in critical situations.
The ministry notes that the pressure of illegal migration remains constant and requires significant resources from the State Border Guard Service and other authorities. The prolonged operation of the border protection system in an enhanced mode has imposed a continuous and increased burden on the personnel of the State Border Guard Service.
The Ministry of the Interior explains that the capacities of the State Border Guard Service are limited when it is necessary to simultaneously carry out two very important tasks: conduct thorough checks at border control points and physically protect the rest of the border.
According to the law, the Cabinet of Ministers has the right to introduce new security measures in the border zone or part of it, including the complete or partial suspension of operations at a specific border control point.
The Ministry of the Interior explains that Belarus has long allowed and facilitated third-country nationals to cross the state border uncontrollably and illegally, posing a threat to Latvia’s national security.
To prevent illegal border crossing, an enhanced border protection system has been implemented along the Latvia-Belarus border.
However, according to the Ministry of the Interior, the continued operation of the Paternieki border control point under current circumstances gives Belarus more opportunities to conduct long-term hybrid warfare operations against Latvia. Moreover, it may become an additional tool to exert pressure and carry out provocations and intelligence activities.
Belarus promises to take “retaliatory actions”
In response to this “unfriendly step,” Belarus reserves the right to take retaliatory actions against Latvia, including asymmetric actions, to protect national interests and Belarusian citizens, according to a statement issued by the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, cited by the state news agency BelTA.
“And this is happening at a time when Latvians show great interest in traveling to our country,” the ministry noted.
“What is most surprising is that in pursuit of political points in Riga, they once again forgot about the people. No one bothered to warn citizens in advance, turning them into hostages of political games,” the statement reads.
“This situation is like a mirror reflection of the crude practice of the Lithuanian authorities at the end of 2025, when the border was also closed without warning and using a fabricated pretext,” stated the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Latvia’s Minister of the Interior, Janis Dombrava, announced on Friday evening on the social network X that the Latvia-Belarus border was closed due to technical reasons and urged those wishing to return to Latvia to use alternative routes.
Kristine Peterson, a public relations specialist for the State Border Guard Service, then confirmed to the news agency LETA that there are technical problems at the Paternieki border control point on the Belarus-Latvia border.
According to her, due to these problems related to information system malfunctions, border control is currently impossible.
The State Border Guard Service explained to LETA that travelers must go to other nearby border crossing points in Lithuania.
LETA also reported that the government extended the enhanced monitoring regime along the Latvia-Belarus border until the end of 2026.
In 2025, Latvian border guards prevented 12,046 people from illegally crossing the Belarus-Latvia border, while 31 people were allowed entry for humanitarian reasons.
In 2024, border officials stopped 5,388 migrants attempting to enter Latvia, while 26 people were allowed to cross the border for humanitarian reasons.
The Latvian authorities consider the attempts by the authoritarian Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko’s regime to push migrants across the borders of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland as hybrid warfare methods directed against these countries.
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