Lithuanian president: services must be ready to respond to threats on border with Belarus

VILNIUS – The services must be ready to respond to threats on the border with Belarus, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda said on Tuesday as he visited the Barauskas Checkpoint in Mantotai Village, Varena District, in southern Lithuania.

"It should be noted that the trend observed in both migration and other border violations is encouraging as we have seen a significant reduction in the number of illegal border crossings. This is good, but it does not mean that such things are self-evident," Nauseda told reporters after his visit.

"The situation is still tense", he added.

At the meeting, the president stressed that the level of threats of various kinds remains in place at the Lithuanian-Belarusian border and must be constantly monitored, and the services must be ready to respond immediately to any provocations, the presidential office said in a press release.

According to the press release, Nauseda was assured that the readiness of officials and institutions ensures constant monitoring and control of the state border, and that border guard units are ready to respond to emerging threats and border violations.