Latvia’s President Rinkevics visits border with Russia

Riga, June 19 (IANS/DPA) Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics visited the border fence being built on his country’s eastern EU external border with Russia.Wearing a military uniform, he inspected the construction work near Karsava together with border guard chief Guntis Pujats on Tuesday.Rinkevics praised the progress made in the construction of the barrier. Pujats described the situation on the border with Russia as relatively calm.Latvia’s eastern border with Russia is 283 km long. To improve security, a fence reinforced with barbed wire is to be erected by the end of 2025. According to the border guard, around 130 km of it have already been completed.Rinkevics said military infrastructure building work would follow the construction of the fence. This is not just about border security, he said, but also about defence.Latvia and its neighbours Estonia and Lithuania, which are concerned about their security due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, want to secure their borders with Russia and its ally Belarus with defence facilities and bunkers against possible attacks.–IANS/DPAint/khz