Latvia, Lithuania and Poland will not ask for the entry into force of Article 4 of the NATO agreement at the moment, Latvian Minister of Defense Artis Pabriks (AP) told LETA, who participated in the European Union (EU) Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels this week.
At present, none of the three countries calls for Article 4 to be invoked, but if the situation worsens and changes follow, such a proposal is not ruled out and all three countries will do so together.
“Behind the scenes, we discussed the need for Article 4 [iedarbināšanas]. We have now agreed not to ask for a start, but preparations have been made. If the situation changes, then we can request a start. At the moment, we do not want to make special use of this NATO system, because as if we have support, the situation as a whole is now under control. We have told the allies and the world is aware that we are close to it, if necessary, “the minister said.
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Under Article 4 of the Washington Treaty, any NATO member state may request consultations with other member states if it considers that its territorial integrity, political independence or security are threatened.
Pabriks said in Birsel that he would not want to hear such different views in the hybrid attack “when some people say that migrants need to be received”, because it means that the real situation is not understood.
Latvia, Poland and Lithuania are not going to surrender to the Belarussian regime and migrants will not be allowed across the border, Pabriks said, expressing satisfaction that representatives of practically all member states in the Council have expressed solidarity with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.
LETA has already written that during the extended hybrid attack on the regime of the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko, attempts have been made in recent months to send thousands of illegal immigrants from Belarus to Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, most of whom have arrived in Belarus as tourists from Iraq.
However, since last Monday, there have been massive attempts by Belarusians to violently break into Polish territory.-
The EU has accused the Minsk regime of seeking to avenge support for the Belarusian opposition and of sanctions against Belarus in response to last year’s violent crackdown on protests.
Under these circumstances, Polish Prime Minister Matthew Moravecki has stated that NATO must take “concrete steps” to resolve the migration crisis on the Belarusian border, so Warsaw, together with Lithuania and Latvia, could request consultations under Article 4 of the alliance agreement. “We are discussing with Latvia and, in particular, Lithuania whether to start Article 4 of the NATO agreement,” Moraveckis told the PAP. “It is not enough for us to express public concern. We now need concrete steps from across the Alliance. “
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