Baltic: Belarus border to be closed in case of “critical incident”: ministers

The Baltic States and Poland have agreed to close their borders with Belarus in the event of a “critical incident” involving the Russian private military company, Wagner Group, Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kaminski announced, TVP World reports. Following their meeting in Warsaw, the Baltic and Polish interior ministers demanded that Belarus expel the Wagner mercenaries and return irregular migrants amassed in the border zone to their countries of origin immediately. Meanwhile, Lithuania plans to close two more checkpoints in Lavoriskes and Raigardas on the border with Belarus, Interior Minister Agne Bilotaite announced, BNS reports. She said that the move would help reduce smuggling and redirect border guards to other checkpoints. Earlier, Lithuania closed the border checkpoints in Sumskas and Tverecius.