Latvia plans to extend the reinforcement of border security policies with Belarus until mid-2025

Follow live the latest news about the war in Ukraine

BERLIN Dec. 18 (DPA/EP) –

The Minister of the Interior of Latvia, Rihards Kozlovskis, reported this Wednesday that the Latvian Executive plans to extend until mid-2025 the reinforcement of security policies on the border with Belarus, which expire at the end of this year.

The Latvian authorities have already expanded these measures on several occasions, approved in March to respond to the continuous attempts of migrants to access the country, thus entering the territory of the European Union from Belarus, Russia’s main ally.

The protection measures contemplate a series of licenses, such as granting the border guard greater powers in several border areas with Russia and Belarus, countries with which it shares 332 and 161 kilometers of border, respectively.

Along with Poland and Lithuania, Latvia has on several occasions denounced the President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, for fueling this border crisis. According to Riga, 5,400 illegal crossings have been prevented this year compared to 13,800 last year.