MOSCOW, Nov 29 Latvia does not plan to close all border checkpoints on border with Russia and Belarus, the flow of illegal migration has recently decreased, said Latvian Interior Minister Rihards Kozlovskis.
“Latvia currently does not plan to completely close the border with Russia and Belarus,” LETA quoted Kozlovskis as saying. According to him, recently the number of attempts to illegally enter Latvia has decreased, but if the security situation at the border changes radically, Riga does not exclude the possible closure of the eastern border. “At the moment I am cautiously optimistic, but one cannot think that anything is excluded,” Kozlovskis said.
Earlier, the Lithuanian Ministry of Internal Affairs stated that they do not yet see the need to close the border with Russia.
On Tuesday, the Finnish Ministry of Internal Affairs informed that at midnight on November 30, the last operating checkpoint on the border with the Russian Federation, Raia-Jooseppi — Lotta, will be closed, all checkpoints will be closed until December 13, the reception of applications from applicants for international protection will be concentrated at airports and sea ports. According to the head of the Finnish Ministry of Internal Affairs, Mari Rantanen, the decision was made “to protect the national security of Finland.”
In September, Latvia suspended the work of one of the two border checkpoints on the border with Belarus Silene “to prevent threats of illegal migration.”