Latvia closes two border checkpoints Viļņi and Pededze on the border with Russia starting today.
This was announced by the Minister of Internal Affairs of Latvia, Rihards Kozlovskis, in an interview with Latvijas Radio, as reported by LSM.
Kozlovskis stated that, according to a report from the head of the Border Guard, GunÄrs PuÄ·Ä«tis, the previous night passed without incidents, and people who arrived at the border checkpoints to cross the border left them.
"The closure of the border crossings went smoothly. Since the Latvian government made the relevant decision (Thursday, October 12), Russian services worked very slowly – I wouldn't say that there were many people, but still, people gathered at Viļņi," he said.
At present, concrete blocks have been installed at the border checkpoints, blocking the path; however, the points have not been left without visual surveillance. Border guards from Viļņi and Pededze will be redirected to other border checkpoints.
The minister noted that border points on the Latvian-Russian border, Grebnevo and Terekhovo, continue to operate, but the progression of queues at these points is slow: "Russia has slowed down the border crossing process – for a few hours, no one (crosses the border), then only one person per hour."
When considering Russia's possible further actions, Kozlovskis said: "Let's wait and see what Russia will do, but I want to emphasize that it was their deliberate actions that led to this situation. In the Schengen zone, there are 32 border checkpoints for crossing the border with Russia. If there were reasons for that, they could have reduced their number, not leaving the only border checkpoint. You don't need to be very farsighted to understand that this was done intentionally."
Meanwhile, people waiting to cross the border at the Viļņi border checkpoint will be transported by buses to the nearest border checkpoint in Grebnevo, according to the LETA agency, citing the head of the Vecums Border Control Office, Ilmar LoÄans.
According to him, the situation at the closed border checkpoint is calm. Once the last people who wanted to cross the border there are transported to Grebnevo, only border guards will remain in Viļņi. Tents set up in preparation for the influx of people crossing the border will be removed.
