On Wednesday, 19 January, Minister of the Interior M. Golubeva visited the Latvian-Belarusian border. The visit was also joined by the US Ambassador to Latvia, John Carwile.
Since we experienced the Belarusian hybrid operation on the border, we have managed to both deploy a temporary fence and pass legislation that will allow faster and more efficient construction of the Latvian-Belarusian border infrastructure. The agreement with JSC “Latvia’s State Forests” (LVM) on deforestation of the territories has already been signed, and land expropriation processes are underway. We are working to ensure that the permanent fence does not endanger the migration of wildlife. It was previously reported that Latvia, Lithuania and Poland will receive 200 million from the European Commission to strengthen their borders. We have already submitted an estimate to cover a number of expenditure items related to border surveillance infrastructure, vehicles and equipment,” noted Minister of the Interior M. Golubeva.
The Minister also acknowledged the support provided by the United States of America in improving the material and technical equipment of the State Border Guard.
As the US Ambassador to Latvia, John Carwilel, noted, The United States strongly condemns the political exploitation of people by the Lukashenko regime, which encourages inhumane migration flows across its borders. These actions endanger human lives. We highly appreciate the leadership demonstrated by Latvia, as well as Lithuania and Poland, in confronting these challenges from Belarus.”
Prepared by:
Advisor to the Minister of the Interior in the matters of strategic communication Linda Curika