MINSK, 1 February (BelTA) – Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko has approved the resolution on the protection of the state border by the border services in 2021, BelTA has learned.
According to the State Border Committee, the situation on the Belarusian border in 2020 remained stable and controlled, with no threats to border security identified. Restrictions in force since the beginning of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic, and increased border protection have led to a decrease in illegal activities.
“At the same time, the risks and challenges to the Belarusian border security associated with illegal migration, smuggling and attempts of radical individuals to cross the border remained. Belarus continued to be used for the transit of illegal migrants from disadvantaged regions to the EU countries,” the committee said.
Chairman of the State Border Committee Anatoly Lappo told the media that the engineering equipment of the state border would continue in 2021, including the work to mark the Belarusian-Ukrainian section within Lelchitsy District, Gomel Oblast. In particular, the matter pertains to a new outpost to be put into operation near the agrotown of Glushkovichi.
Speaking about 2020, Anatoly Lappo said that it was a difficult year, due to the pandemic and internal political events in Belarus. “We also experienced pressure from the outside, of course. I will not reveal a secret if I say that we did not let several thousand people into Belarus, who traveled to the country in the second half of the year with various bad intentions. There was also an attempt to destabilize the situation in the Baltic area. We did not let this happen,” said the head of the State Border Committee.
According to him, the work in this direction will continue this year, the border authorities will be ready to meet the challenges and protect the borders. “The border is a living organism. Today it is calm, tomorrow it may hot,” said Anatoly Lappo.
Belarus has to respond to the challenges and threats, said the president when receiving the report by the head of the State Border Committee. “Our responsibility here is not only for Belarus, but also for the Russians. I have to say that the level of protection of our border zone by our border services is superior to any border in the world. We understand that the border is a mirror, a face of any state. I could argue with anyone that there is no other state in the world with such protection of the state border as Belarus has. It is necessary to maintain the protection of the state border at this level.”
The border service uncovered and suppressed 12 channels of drug trafficking and identified 45 persons with signs of involvement in extremist activities. However, the total number of violators of the legislation on the state border has decreased by more than a half - from 4,000 in 2019 to 1,800 in 2020.
Among the main tasks for 2021, the State Border Committee named the improvement of engineering and technical equipment of the borders, and the proximity of unit deployment. Construction of signaling complexes and installation of automated technical observation posts for reliable control of protected areas will continue.
For example, the monitoring center set up at the Khoiniki border checkpoint allows remote control over 100 kilometers of the border with Ukraine with the help of various security and surveillance systems. This year its capabilities will increase several times.
