Lithuania will close two of its border crossings with Belarus on Friday in response to the presence of mercenaries from the Wagner group on neighboring territory, the Baltic country’s government announced on Wednesday.
The Lithuanian Council of Ministers approved the proposal of the Ministry of Transport to close two border crossings, in Sumsk and Tvericiaus, to concentrate most of the activities and controls at the largest border post, in Medininkai.
For years, these two passages were mainly used by people who went shopping or visiting relatives for less money.
“This decision is a preventive measure to manage threats to national security and possible provocations at the border,” Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite said.
The closing of border crossings is in response to the move into Belarusian territory by mercenaries from the Russian Wagner group.
The Medininkai border post is considered to be the most technically equipped, with control systems not available at the posts that will be closed.
With more border guards and customs inspectors at this post, “the situation regarding vehicle queues and freight traffic should not undergo any major changes,” said a spokesman for the Ministry of Transport.
On Telegram’s digital platform, Belarus has already responded to Lithuania’s closure of two border crossings, further isolating this Moscow ally, saying it is “another non-constructive and hostile measure” on the part of Vilnius .
“The Lithuanian authorities are using every pretext not only to prevent the movement of goods, but also to reduce the flow of Lithuanians traveling to Belarus,” the Belarusian border guard said.
According to Minsk, the closure of these border posts is causing “an increase in queues to enter Lithuania” and “delays in clearance” of goods.
“By making such decisions, Lithuania deliberately creates artificial border barriers to serve its political goals,” the Belarusian border guard further criticized.
It is believed in the Lithuanian media that the decision on these two border crossings could be the first step towards the complete closure of the border with Belarus.
Tensions have been brewing for several weeks between Belarus and its European Union (EU) neighbors, Lithuania and Poland, which have already erected fences along their borders, with Warsaw planning to deploy 10,000 troops there, fearing not only the Wagner group as a new influx of migrants to the EU.
Lithuanian public radio TV website Lrt.lt quoted the interior minister as saying that the Baltic countries and Poland are discussing the possibility of completely closing borders with Belarus and that the final details will be agreed at a meeting in Warsaw on August 28.
Information about the presence and activities of the Wagner group in Belarus is conflicting, although the Lithuanian State Border Guard estimates that the number of mercenaries could be around 4,500.
The announcement of the closure of the two Lithuanian border posts came at the same time as border guard permits were revoked in Latvia and staff numbers increased at the border with Belarus after an increase in illegal crossings was noted.
The Belarus-encouraged concentration of migrants from the Middle East and elsewhere on the borders with Lithuania, Latvia and Poland is regarded as a “hybrid warfare” tactic aimed at overburdening the border guards and social services of countries that Shelter Belarusian dissidents and support Ukraine in the war as it tries to defend itself against Russian aggression, which began on February 24, 2022.
Source: DN
