Estonian Minister Urges Belarus Border Closures

Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro raised the proposal during an October 30 visit to Estonia’s border with Russia, alongside Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava. It would require coordinated action by Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, the countries controlling Belarus’s western crossings.

Taro described the possible closures as a way to increase pressure on Minsk. He accused Belarus and Russia of using irregular migration against countries supporting Ukraine, and said the proposal deserved serious consideration.

According to the Estonian Interior Ministry, border guards in Latvia have prevented more than 12,000 irregular crossing attempts this year.

In the same statement, Taro characterised people of unclear origin operating at the external border as adversaries and said lethal force should be used against them where necessary.

Cooperation along the frontier

The Latvian Interior Ministry said the visit focused on border infrastructure, modern surveillance technology and cooperation between services.

The delegation inspected Luhamaa, the Baltic Defence Line and the Piusa border unit, then visited Narva. Estonian personnel continue to assist Latvia’s State Border Guard on the frontier with Belarus.

Protection of life and access to asylum

United Nations standards permit intentional lethal force only when strictly unavoidable to protect life. They place the protection of people at the centre of the rules governing firearms in border policing.

The European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights says measures against the use of migration as political pressure must uphold fundamental rights, including the right to asylum.