Just in case: the Latvian police are preparing for the “West – 2017”
Latvian security police require citizens to be vigilant and report all suspicious cases. Insistent recommendations are heard on the eve of the Russian-Belarusian exercise West-2017.
Chairman of the Duma of the Kraslava Region, Gunnar Upenieks, confirmed that the conversation with the law enforcement agencies regarding the upcoming military maneuvers of Russia and Belarus will be held earlier this week. Latvian security officials ask residents of border areas to notify all suspicious cases by phone or email at any time of the day.
Note that over the past week this is the second attempt to intimidate the local population with the “Russian threat”. Earlier it was reported that the special services of Latvia intend to take a whole range of measures, the content more reminiscent of anti-Russian psychosis. One of such initiatives was the unofficial ban of military simulation games (airsoft, laser tag), which, according to Latvian politicians, can serve as a cover for penetration into the republic of sabotage groups.
Understanding the situation, it can be stated that all the efforts undertaken by Riga to protect its territory are demonstrative in nature and have no practical use.
It is obvious that both Russian and Belarusian intelligence possess all the necessary information on the Baltic countries. As a result, if Minsk and Moscow were to carry out sabotage operations during the “West – 2017”, a ban on citizens running around the fields with toy pistols would hardly have helped the “prudent” Latvians.
Returning to the recommendation of the Latvian police “to report suspicious cases”, one cannot but recall the experience of Lithuania, which several months ago already tried to check the vigilance of its citizens. Recall that in April Vilnius organized a Ministry of Internal Affairs exercise to combat hypothetical saboteurs, about whom only a narrow circle of people from among the military-political leadership of the republic had been informed in advance. As is known, the maneuvers turned into a complete failure: the “green men” advanced several kilometers, the police commissariat (together with the storage depot) took control of weapons) of the city of Salcininka and proclaimed the “Salchininka People’s Republic”. It must be emphasized that during the exercise, no citizen called the emergency center to notify the competent authorities about the appearance of saboteurs. It seems that the Latvian calls of vigilance during the period of the “West-2017” will be just as few, which raises doubts as to the need for measures being taken.
It is noteworthy that the demonstrative fears of the “West-2017” do not prevent Latvian politicians from leaving comments on this subject that run counter to their current activities. So, at the end of last month, President Raymond Vejonis stated that there was no threat to "Latvia, the Baltic States or NATO" during the Russian-Belarusian exercise. The same opinion is shared by the Latvian Ambassador to Russia Maris Riekstins, who last week advised not to exaggerate possible threats from the upcoming maneuvers.
Communications Minister of the Republic Uldis Augulis went even further, stating on the eve of "West-2017" the need to "talk and work together" with Moscow. “I think that in both countries there are people who want bread with sausage, and not just bread,” the politician said.
Be that as it may, the situation should be assessed on the basis of real actions that indicate the lack of progress in Russian-Latvian relations. Remembering the famous line of Vladimir Vysotsky's song: “And not a friend, and not an enemy, but - so” ...
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