Poland and Baltic States discuss possibility of closing border with Belarus
Poland and the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia) are discussing the measures and procedures that would need to be put in place if the circumstances required them to close their borders with Belarus.
Source: LRT (Lithuanian National Radio and Television), citing Agnė Bilotaitė, Lithuania’s Minister of the Interior
Quote from Bilotaitė: "We agreed to coordinate technical measures and procedures around a possible regional solution agreed by the Baltic States and Poland. We are continuing to work on the technical and political details. A meeting of [the representatives of] the Baltic States and Poland is expected to take place in Warsaw on 28 August, where we will agree the final details of what a synchronous border closure would look like."
Details: Bilotaitė also said that she discussed closing the Belarusian border with her Polish counterpart last week.
Background:
- As of 18 August, the Lithuanian government will temporarily close two out of six Belarus border crossings.
- Poland and the Baltic States are preoccupied by border security after hundreds of Wagner Group mercenaries arrived in Belarus in July on the invitation of the self-proclaimed Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko. There has also been a rise in border crossings by illegal migrants, who are being aided by Belarusian law enforcement forces.
- Against this backdrop, Latvia has suspended its border guards’ holidays.
- Poland, in turn, has said it would transfer several thousand of its troops to the Belarusian border; it is expected to have around 10,000 troops on the border.
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