2023-08-16 19:53:00
The government of the Baltic EU and NATO country decided on Wednesday in Vilnius to close the two checkpoints Sumskas and Tverecius on August 18 until further notice. Belarus reacted angrily.
“This decision is one of the preventive measures to contain threats to national security and possible provocations at the border,” said Lithuanian Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite. This would allow more personnel to be deployed to monitor and protect the border.
Belarus reacted angrily to the neighboring country’s decision. The Belarusian border guard said on Wednesday in the online service Telegram that it was “another non-constructive and unfriendly measure” on the part of the Lithuanian government. The Lithuanian authorities used “every excuse” to reduce both the mutual flow of goods and the flow of Lithuanians to Belarus.
Lithuania shares a nearly 420-mile border with Russia’s close ally Belarus. Like Poland and Latvia, the Baltic state is concerned regarding the activities of the Russian private army Wagner in the neighboring country. After the failed uprising once morest Moscow, their troops set up camp in Belarus – and, according to the leadership in Minsk, are supposed to train the Belarusian army. According to border guard boss Rustamas Liubajevas, there might be up to 4,500 Wagner fighters in the authoritarian former Soviet republic.
For years, the Sumsko and Tvereciaus border crossings have been heavily used by shopping tourists and people who want to visit relatives in the other country. According to Bilotaite, the Baltic states and Poland are also discussing the possibility of completely closing their borders with Belarus. There should be talks in Warsaw at the end of the month, she said, according to the BNS agency.
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