Baltic countries and Poland talk of closing all border crossings with Belarus.
Athens, Wednesday, 16 August 2023
According to Lithuanian media on Wednesday, a proposal to entirely close all border crossings with Belarus was considered by the three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as well as Poland.
According to a statement made by Lithuania's interior minister, Agne Bilotaite, the final decision is anticipated to be made during negotiations in Warsaw, Poland, on August 28.
The border is where we need the most officers, therefore having as many border guards as possible there is our main objective, she continued.
The discussion focuses on the four NATO nations who are assisting Ukraine against Russia, which commenced operations on February 24 of last year and has Belarus' assistance.
These four nations are also NATO members that are backing Ukraine against Russia, which commenced strikes on February 24 of last year and has Belarus' support, and are having this conversation in the context of the ongoing confrontation between Moscow and Kyiv.
The Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary group, is present in Belarus, and there have been more attempts to cross the border illegally, which Minsk is to blame for, according to Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania, which recently announced plans to tighten border security with Belarus.
The Tverecius and Sumskas border crossing points with Belarus will be closed starting on Friday, according to the Lithuanian government.
But for the time being, it noted, all four of Belarus' border crossing points—Medininkai, Lavoriskes, Raigardas, and Salcininkai—will be open.
The decision, according to the administration, was made as a result of geopolitical factors and the requirement to lessen dangers in light of Wagner Group's presence in Belarus.
(Written by, The Decision Maker - International Relations editors, Angelos Tsigkopoulos contributed to this article)