In a setting frozen by an abundance of snow that bends the trees of the surrounding forest, the convoy ends up stopping along a fence. The stage is fast, there is not a living soul here, but it allows the Lithuanian Interior Minister, Agne Bilotaite, to show her European colleagues, invited on site, a dreaded place: the line of demarcation with neighboring Belarus.
The fence, which stretches as far as the eye can see along the border, is new. Higher, too – with 4 meters in height – than the previous one, in order to deter migrants from the Middle East or sub-Saharan Africa, pushed by the Belarusian authorities, from entering the territory. The ministers present nodded. “Before, it was in the South; now it’s everywhere, in Lithuania, in Poland, or even in Hungary, for geopolitical reasons”, advances the French Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, trampling the frozen ground.
Then, still escorted by armed border guards, the procession turns around in the direction of Vilnius, the capital, barely 40 kilometers away. In association with Poland, Greece and Austria, Lithuania organized there, on Friday 21 January, a conference on borders, in the presence of twenty-nine European delegations and the European Commissioner for Home Affairs, Ylva Johansson.
This meeting, scheduled to discuss security in the Schengen area, in particular in the light of the instrumentalization of migrants by the Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko for months, was above all weighed down by the announcement of the next Russian-Belarusian military maneuvers , scheduled between February 10 and 20, at the gates of Europe.
A scent of war
“It’s really a good time to talk about borders”exclaimed Latvian Interior Minister Marija Golubeva. In a context where Moscow has massed thousands of soldiers on the border with Ukraine, and where Washington continues to warn of a possible “invasion” of this country, the atmosphere in Vilnius has changed from “hybrid warfare”, on the migration issue, with a flavor of war period.
On Friday, Lithuanian Defense Minister Arvydas Anusauskas confirmed on his Facebook account that the three Baltic states would send weapons to Ukraine, after obtaining the green light from the United States for the transfer of equipment manufactured overseas. -Atlantic. “In the light of increasing Russian military pressure, [nous avons] decided to respond to the needs of Ukrainians, he pointed out. Lithuania and Latvia will supply Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, Estonia Javelin anti-tank missiles. » The United Kingdom is reportedly considering deploying additional troops to these three countries, “deterrent title”, according to the British daily The Times citing unnamed military sources.
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