The Saeima of Latvia submitted for consideration to the National Security Commission a draft decision on the temporary complete closure of the border with Russia and Belarus during military exercises involving these two states. The decision was initiated by the National Alliance party and supported by the majority of deputies – 70 deputies voted "for", 13 – "against", one abstained.
This was reported by Delfi, writes UNN.
Details
The authors of the project propose to instruct Prime Minister Evika Siliņa to immediately make a decision on closing the border and oblige the Ministry of Defense to take additional measures to respond to any security threats.
The discussion in parliament revealed significant political differences. For example, MP Svetlana Chulkova ruled out a threat from Russia.
Edmunds Zivtiņš, a deputy from the "Latvia First" party, called the idea of closing the land border "senseless", noting that drones move through the air, not over land, and warned against economic consequences and political tension.
The National Alliance reminded that the "Zapad" exercises are held from September 12 to 16, officially with the participation of 13 thousand military personnel, but experts suggest that the real number may be significantly higher. The party also noted the recent attack by Russian drones on Poland from the territory of Belarus, which, in their opinion, demonstrates potential threats to NATO and the Baltic countries.
Recall
Latvia closes its airspace in the eastern border region from September 11 to September 18. This decision was made after the assessment of the NAF and events in Poland, which constitute a violation of NATO airspace.
As UNN previously wrote, near the eastern border of Latvia, the country's armed forces proposed closing the airspace. Such a decision could be a response to possible threats from Russia, for example, to such provocations with drones that occurred on the territory of Poland.