Baltic heads of police and border protection services discuss security risks associated with Russia's presidential "election"

RIGA - The Baltic heads of police and border guard services discussed security risks associated with Russia's upcoming presidential "election", LETA was told at the State Police. 

The three-way meeting of the heads of the Latvian, Estonian and Lithuanian police and border guard services took place in Riga on Monday afternoon. The meeting was organized at the initiative of the Latvian State Police and State Border Guard. 

Given the current geopolitical situation and Russia's full-scale war of aggression in Ukraine, the meeting focused on common internal security issues, including border security, crime trends in each country and the risks associated with this week's Russian presidential "election".

The law enforcement and border protection services of all three countries are meticulously preparing for the Russian presidential "elections" on March 17. Although the threat level in the countries is low, it is possible that provocative activities and attempts to express support for the aggressor by glorifying war crimes and their perpetrators can be expected.

According to the State Police, the services in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania are ready to ensure public order and security in order to prevent the risk of provocations and threats to public order and security, as well as any glorification of the aggressor state or military aggression and justification of war. If violations are detected, the services in all three countries will take stern action. During these days, the Baltic states are planning to intensify police presence and surveillance through various preventive security activities.

As reported, the Latvian State Police and State Border Guard will screen visitors to the polling station located at the Russian Embassy in the streets of Riga during the upcoming Russian presidential "elections" this weekend to check whether they have the right to stay in Latvia, State Police Chief Armands Ruks told in an interview with commercial TV3 television Monday.

The checks of these Russian citizens may reveal serious breaches of the residence rules, which would immediately trigger the expulsion procedure. In order to ensure that the legal procedure is correctly followed, colleagues from the Office for Citizenship and Migration will also take part in the screening.

At Monday's meeting, the chiefs of the Baltic law enforcement and border protection services also discussed issues of concern like the mood of the population and the internal security situation, including crime trends. The services highlighted the prevalence of narcotic drugs as a worrying trend, as well as the increase in crimes against property. One of the issues addressed was the assessment and identification of risks related to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and the role of the police in strengthening internal security.