Lukashenko claimed that incident involving masked men at border was ’orchestrated’ by Latvia for sake of EU funds
The self-proclaimed President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, claims that the incident involving masked men at the Latvian-Belarusian border was deliberately orchestrated by the Latvian side in order to "extract funds" from the European Union.
His statement is quoted by the Belarusian publication "Zerkalo", reports Censor.NET.
What Lukashenko said
According to Lukashenko, he has already been informed that the Latvians had orchestrated the whole thing as a pretext for obtaining funds from the EU, and that Belarus has nothing to do with it.
"We are well aware – I have already been briefed on this – that all of this was done by the Latvians as a pretext for obtaining funds from the European Union. We have absolutely nothing to do with this," he said.
Lukashenko also said that the security forces could not have carried out such actions without the knowledge of the head of state. He emphasised that such matters had not been agreed with him, and therefore could not have taken place, as the obedience of the Belarusian security forces, in his words, "is beyond any doubt".
"Thank you for putting up the fence"
Lukashenko also commented on Latvia’s construction of fences along the border with Belarus, describing it as beneficial for Belarus.
"I’d like to thank them for building this fence. In the event of aggression on their part (and if aggression does occur, it can only come from their side; there will be none from ours), they will have to get past this fence. That works in our favour," he said.
What led up to it?
- As a reminder, on 6 October, the Latvian military thwarted an attempt by at least 20 irregular migrants to cross the border with Belarus. The group was deliberately led into Latvian territory by armed, masked men who threatened the Latvian military personnel.
- On 10 August, Latvian border guards discovered an underground tunnel leading from Belarus for the first time and detained 15 migrants. This took place within the territory of the Silen Border Guard Station.
- Prior to this, border guards in the country had used tear gas and fired a warning shot at migrants who were also attempting to cross from Belarus.
- Similar tunnels from Belarus have been found in Lithuania and Poland in the past.
