We demand the Wagner PMC to immediately withdraw from the territory of Belarus and all irregular migrants brought to the border area by Belarusian authorities to immediately leave and be sent back to their countries of origin by the Lukashenko regime

insisted Minister Mariusz Kamiński. 

The Polish Minister of the Interior and Administration stressed that should the Belarusian side fail to resolve these issues, the outcome could be a complete shutdown of all crossings along the Belarusian border. 

We stand committed to joint action, should a critical situation arise on the Polish, Lithuanian or Latvian border. We will retaliate immediately by shutting down the remaining open border crossings, shutting down movement of persons and goods. The mechanisms outlined today will also apply to the border with the Russian Federation. All our countries have a formal border with this state

he noted. 

The Minister of the Interior and Administration also spoke about the situation of the members of the Belarusian political opposition. He pointed out that following the rigged presidential election in 2020, the Belarusian people showed their commitment to freedom and independence. 

They faced brutal and violent crackdowns. As of now, Belarusian prisons hold thousands of political prisoners, among them Andrzej Poczobut, a prominent journalist and Polish national minority activist. We have been communicating with the Belarusian opposition. We are in contact with the legitimate winner of the 2020 elections, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, and we are going to devise measures and channels allowing any person at risk of reprisals in Belarus to cross our borders in the event of the shutdown of all border crossings and reach our countries safely 

said Minister Mariusz Kamiński. 

Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and regional security

In her statement, Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania Agnė Bilotaitė highlighted that the threats at the borders are ongoing and that Lithuania always takes adequate measures. 

Recently, Lithuania reviewed its border protection plan. We concluded that in the case of an incident, we will show solidarity and act decisively in responding to the Lukashenko regime

said Minister Bilotaitė.

Minister for Interior of the Republic of Latvia Māris Kučinskis stated that protecting the border will be successful and effective if the countries act together. 

Minister Kučinskis added:

This joint statement is a signal to Minsk that we are not going to falter in the process of making decisions. Each of our countries will be able to respond accordingly in a matter of hours.

Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Estonia Lauri Läänemets underscored the fact that Estonia has always supported Poland, Lithuania and Latvia in all matters concerning security in the region. 

Should this situation escalate, Estonia will continue to support its neighbours. It is very important to send a strong message to the Lukashenko regime

he concluded. 

Joint Declaration of the Ministers of Interior of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia after the consultation meeting in Warsaw

Taking due account of regional security concerns, the Ministers of Interior of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia met today, 28th August in Warsaw, to jointly assess the current situation in the field of security on the external EU border with Belarus and Russia.

Since mid-2021 the four States have been facing the unprecedented illegal migration pressure provoked and artificially sustained by the Belarusian regime, clearly supported by Russia. This hybrid attack preceded the start of hostilities against Ukraine. Currently, the artificial migration route through Belarus enables Russia to make further attempts to destabilize our societies and the whole European Union.

Due to the decisive actions of the Governments in the region, we have efficiently minimized the migratory pressure and protected the external EU border. We continue to jointly monitor the situation on the border with Belarus and Russia and remain aware that these two states can organize border provocations.

We underline that we consider the activities undertaken by Russia backed by Belarus as their intentional attempts to destabilize the situation in the region. We firmly declare that we will jointly stand against them. Our response will be united, determined and appropriate to the situation, with the possibility of further isolation of both regimes by closing border crossing points. We are determined to protect the borders of the democratic world, while maintaining the access to our territories for Belarusian oppositionists.

In this regard, we call upon Belarusian regime to remove the "Wagner" group from the Belarusian territories, withdraw all illegal migrants from the border areas and return them to their countries of origin.

We hereby reaffirm that ensuring security at the external border of the EU with Russia and Belarus is one of the top priorities of our Governments. We stress that the cooperation between Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia in that regard is important for us and will be further developed.

Mariusz Kamiński Minister of the Interior and Administration of the Republic of Poland
Agnė Bilotaitė Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Lithuania
Māris Kučinskis Minister for Interior of the Republic of Latvia
Lauri Läänemets Minister of the Interior of the Estonian Republic