September 11, Pozirk. The Latvian Cabinet of Ministers yesterday extended enhanced border controls with Belarus until December 31, according to the Latvian government website.
It attributes the decision to threats and illegal border crossings.
Latvia prevented 4,210 migrants from entering the country illegally between January 1 and September 10.
It is crucial to ensure a coordinated interstate response to illegal border crossings to maintain equal surveillance of the Belarusian border throughout the region, the government said.
The ongoing war against Ukraine, supported by Russia’s ally Belarus, is an additional risk factor and a possible motive for Minsk to destabilize the border with Latvia, it added.
Under Latvia’s law, officials may declare enhanced controls for up to six months with the possibility of extension until a threat is eliminated. Earlier, enhanced controls were extended on March 13 until September 12.
The Latvian State Border Guard said it thwarted 113 illegal entries on September 1–9. That was a decrease of 21 percent from the number of incidents reported in the same period last year.
Attempted border violations fell 44.8 percent year on year from January to September 9 to 4,205.
