Latvia may close two border crossings on border with Russia due to threat to national security
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Latvia has prepared a draft government resolution on the suspension of border crossings in Pededze and Vientula.
This is reported by Censor.NET with reference to Delfi.
As stated in the annotation to the project of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Russia has adopted a decision that provides that from October 16, 2023, all holders of Ukrainian passports will be able to enter the territory of the Russian Federation from EU countries only through two border points, one of them is the checkpoint on the border of Latvia and Russia - Vientuli.
In view of this decision, it can be concluded that conditions will be created on the Latvian-Russian border that can significantly affect public order and create a threat to national security. There are reasons to believe that such a decision of the Russian Federation is a response to the corresponding decision of the EU, in particular, the decision of Latvia to ban entry into the country for vehicles with Russian license plates, the Ministry of Internal Affairs noted.
"In view of Russia's war in Ukraine and the need to prevent a threat to the internal security of Latvia, which is related to encroachment on state independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity, the country's power or a democratic state system, on October 16 it is planned to suspend the work of the checkpoints in Pededze and Vientula.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will inform Russia about the decision," the message reads.
At the same time, the suspension of the operation of these checkpoints will relieve the resources of the State Border Guard and other relevant services, which can be redirected to ensure border protection in other places.
There are also Terekhovo and Grebnevo checkpoints on the Latvian-Russian border.
As noted, at this moment the project has been submitted for approval.
