Chairman of the State Border Committee of Belarus Anatoly Lappo told about the situation at the border in all directions during a meeting with labor groups on the current issues of the military-political situation, which was held today in Mogilev, BelTA informs.
"The situation in the Ukrainian direction is still tense. We have border patrols of at least five people: with weapons, bulletproof vests and helmets. Of course, it is difficult. Especially since this is the first time we've encountered such a situation: border guards are guarding the border with a state where military operations are under way. We learn and counteract provocations," he said. – Though our President allowed Ukrainians to collect wild-growing plants in the swamps, this year not a single person has been let out of the territory of Ukraine. The village is taken by the military and volunteers and not a single person is let out. That's their attitude towards people."
Another aspect that adds to the tension in the border area with Ukraine is too many weapons on the Ukrainian side. "Now we can't even determine who and how guards the border, there are no signs of distinction," said Anatoly Lappo.
The Chairman of the State Border Committee stressed that the Belarusian border guards are always ready for dialogue and Belarus has never closed its checkpoints. "People used to come to us. They used to buy flour, bread, milk, sunflower oil from us. But now they are forbidden to do that. And who benefits from that?" - he asks a rhetorical question.
In addition, there are issues on the border with Poland and the Baltic States. "The Polish side keeps pushing refugees out to us. The Polish side continues to build up engineering fences. This year alone, 180 kilometers of fences have been built. But no fence is going to save migrants. We do not go that way. We check the border by more modern methods: video cameras and other means of protection," he said.
"The situation at the checkpoints is not easy. And the reason for that is non-observance of the agreements of the nearest European neighboring countries. Our joint agreement is 200 cars per day. Latvia allowed 91 vehicles through. We have a queue of 150 cars. There is no queue of cars at the entrance to Belarus - we have taken everyone. Let's take "Kamenny Log" (Lithuania). The agreement is 500 cars per day. The Lithuanians let through 168. The queue was 565 cars. Let's take "Kozlovichi": the agreements are for 1.2 thousand cars, but the number of cars let through is 500. The queue here is 600 cars," he said. - Of course, it makes nervousness of the citizens crossing the border, especially when people are standing in the back 10-15 km away. They think that the Belarusian border guards do not work. But when you get to the border, it turns out to be quite different."
Anatoly Lappo noted that the situation at the state border is manageable. Belarusian border guards have all the necessary forces and means to maintain order there and protect our borders. "And if there are any problems, we will solve them," he assured.













