Latvia will not close its border with Belarus for now, the Latvian government announced, LSM reports. The border checkpoint in Patarnieki, Latvia’s only remaining land border crossing with Belarus, was closed for “technical reasons” on 31 July 2026. As a result, hundreds of trucks are stuck at the border crossing, LSM reports. The Ministry of Interior urged the government to close the checkpoint to guarantee Latvia’s territorial integrity, prevent threats to public order, and stop illegal border crossings, LSM reported. However, Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs pointed out that irregular migrants were not entering the country via the Patarnieki checkpoint. Also, he said that stopping all illegal border crossings was impossible, but added that their number must still be reduced to a minimum. Meanwhile, Maris Andzans, director of the Center for Geopolitical Studies Riga, noted that closing the border would allow the government to stop both illegal migration and trade with Russia and Belarus.
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