Latvia Restricts Border Crossings with Russia, Belarus

The Latvian government will partially close three border crossing points on the border with Belarus and Russia from 19 March, LSM reports.

These are the Paternijeki crossing point on the border with Belarus in the Krāslava region and the Grebnjēvi and Terekhovo crossing points on the border with Russia in the Ludza region.

At these three points, only cars will be allowed to cross the border, which will help to strengthen border security and simplify control.  

The Ministry of the Interior, after a lengthy analysis of the services, proposed to the government the partial closure of the border crossing points, explained the head of the ministry, Rihards Kozlovskis.  

The Paternijeki point already had to be temporarily closed on Sunday, 16 March, to prevent possible illegal border crossings, as previously reported by the Border Guard.  

At a government meeting, Minister Kozlovskis noted that the situation that had previously forced Finland to close its border had been observed in Latvia for a week.  

He also drew attention to the growing number of migrants trying to enter the country illegally, particularly in Lithuania.  

In the explanatory note to the order, the Ministry of Internal Affairs referred to Finland's experience in closing the Finnish-Russian border.  

Given the possibility of Russia's use of hybrid warfare tactics on the border with Finland, which could lead to a migration crisis, as has already happened on the Belarusian border with the EU, Latvia must ensure effective border control on both the Latvian-Belarusian and Latvian-Russian borders, the Interior Ministry said.  

Kozlovskis stressed that this decision was made ‘out of caution’ due to the growing flow of migrants at the border.  

The Silene border crossing point on the Latvian-Belarusian border, as well as the Vientuli and Piedze border crossings on the Latvian-Russian border, which have been closed since 2023, will also remain closed. The decision was made in response to the war waged by Russia in Ukraine and the hybrid war waged by Belarus against neighbouring countries.

As The Gaze reported, in early 2024, Latvian President Edgars Rinkēvičs said that Latvia needed to continue strengthening its eastern border to ensure national security. 

According to the Latvian president, the eastern border should also be strengthened in terms of building military infrastructure, as the fence alone will not protect against a serious military threat.