Tight international cooperation valuable for Belarus border service

        Joint border operations allow fighting criminals and trespassers together in addition to making international cooperation stronger. The opinion was voiced by Vasily Gedko, Deputy Head of the Central Operations Office of the State Border Committee of Belarus. The official said that the Belarusian side highly appreciates the tight cooperation with other countries in matters of border security, treasures the experience acquired through joint operations and believes their results are rather essential. Vasily Gedko also underlined that this kind of cooperation is particularly important in view of Belarus’ intention to host a world ice hockey championship in 2014. Results of the joint border operation Zapad 2013, which was designed to suppress criminal activities that cross the external borders of the Commonwealth of Independent States in the northwestern and western directions, were summed up in Minsk on 1 August.
Measures that have been carried out have allowed improving the effectiveness of border guarding in the selected areas, actively counteracting organized crimes and other kinds of illegal activities, and responding adequately to changes of the situation in a timely manner.