Opinions & Interviews

Lukashenko hears out report of Chairman of State Border Committee Lappo

MINSK, 1 February (BelTA) – The army and border troops have realized that they should protect the country more efficiently, Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko said as he heard out a report of Chairman of the State Border Committee Anatoly Lappo on 1 February, BelTA informs.

“Last year was a test for us, especially for people in uniform, including for our border troops. I should say that we have generally stood the test: border troops performed their major functions a bit better than other law enforcement agencies. It was okay in general,” Aleksandr Lukashenko stressed.

The head of state praised positive results in the fight against illegal migration, drug trafficking, illegal trade, terrorist threats. “The fact is that here, in the west, we protect not only Belarus but also the borders of the Union State. Therefore, we draw serious attention to the protection of the state border, the president emphasized.

He remarked that the situation with the pandemic has complicated work on the last frontier of our country, especially for border guards and customs officers. “But the situation was manageable, and border guards and customs officers worked together. The situation was manageable in a way that my instructions were transferred to the army and implemented better than ever. It means that the army and border troops realized that they should protect the country more efficiently and seriously. Therefore, there was a proper reaction,” the president said. “It is good that we are prepared and can respond when necessary.”

The efforts to step up the efficiency of the state border protection, to improve the border infrastructure and near-border territories were continued last year. “New frontier outposts were opened, maneuver groups were created. Please tell me if we have set up maneuver groups in all places where it was planned. You remember that they ceased to exist: we were so ‘smart' to decide that they were unnecessary. As it turned out, we need them. They can be small, but they have been deployed at every frontier outpost. These maneuver groups can cover every part of the border and help frontier outposts if necessary,” the head of state said.

After the report Aleksandr Lukashenko the resolution on the protection of the state border by the border services in 2021.

According to the State Border Committee, the situation on the Belarusian border remained stable and manageable, no threats to border security were revealed. Pandemic-related restrictions which were introduced in early 2020 and increased efforts to protect the state border helped reduce illegal activities.

“However, risks and threats to border security connected with illegal migration, illegal trade and attempts to cross the border by radically-minded persons still exist. The territory of Belarus was still used for the transit of illegal migrants from depressed regions to the countries of the European Union,” the State Border Committee said.

Border protection agencies have uncovered and suppressed 12 channels of drug trafficking, indentified 45 persons involved in extremist activities. However, the overall number of violations of the state border legislation reduced more than two times – from 4,000 in 2019 to 1,800 in 2020.

The introduction of digital queuing at the Bruzgi checkpoint was completed in 2020. Together with the State Customs Committee, the Urbany checkpoint on the Belarus-Latvia border has been upgraded and revamped, the work in underway at the Verkhny Terebezhov checkpoint on the border with Ukraine, which is scheduled to be completed in March 2021. In addition to that, the work on transferring certain functions of border guards to the customs services is in progress at the checkpoints of Novaya Rudnya, Kotlovka, Mokrany and Svisloch.

“A lot of work is being done by the border services to combat the spread of coronavirus infection and to prevent its import from foreign states. Border guards, together with employees of sanitary and quarantine points identify persons showing symptoms of the dangerous infection and hand over papers containing a self-isolation requirement to those who arrive from the countries of the red zone. In 2020, about four million vehicles and around nine million persons crossed the border. The decrease in the number of border crossings is primarily attributed to the border crossing restrictions imposed by neighboring states,” the committee informed.

Among the main tasks for 2021, the State Border Committee named the improvement of engineering and technical equipment at the border, 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 of 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. There are plans to complete the designation of the Belarus-Ukraine border from the side of Belarus within Lelchitsy District of Gomel Oblast.

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