August 3, Pozirk. Belarus may respond with “retaliatory” and “asymmetric” measures after Latvia closed the only functioning border checkpoint between the two countries last week, the Belarusian foreign ministry has said.
The warning appeared to refer to the similar closure of the Belarusian-Lithuanian border in November 2025, to which Minsk retaliated by prohibiting more than 1,000 Lithuanian trucks from leaving Belarus. The trucks were held for more than four months, with authorities charging exorbitant parking fees.
In today’s statement, Minsk warned Latvia that it reserves the right to take asymmetric measures to protect its national interests and citizens, adding that Riga would bear full responsibility for the consequences.
Latvia closed the Patarnieki-Hryhoraŭščyna checkpoint on August 1, citing “technical reasons” reportedly linked to a computer system failure.
Minsk dismissed the explanation as “blatantly unconvincing.”
“It is obvious that this alleged malfunction is yet another link in the chain of exploiting the border issue,” the foreign ministry said, noting that Latvian checkpoints on the country’s border with Russia continue to operate.
Latvia has been grappling with irregular migration via Belarus this year, registering 9,000 illegal border-crossing attempts by undocumented third-country nationals arriving from Belarus since the beginning of the year.
The Belarusian foreign ministry claimed that Latvian Interior Minister Jānis Dombrava ordered the closure as part of the parliamentary election campaign.
Minsk also accused Riga of disrupting international trade and transit routes between the European Union and China, as well as Central Asian countries, while harming Latvia’s own economic interests.
