A week after the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board said it wants to build a fence, backed up by sensors and cameras, along the majority of the Estonian-Russian land border, Latvia said it is also toying with the idea.

Latvian interior minister Rihards Kozlovskis said a fence would block illegal immigration, adding that around 300 people have crossed the Latvian-Russian border illegally this year alone, lsm.lv reported.

He said many of the immigrants are from Vietnam, who have worked in Russia for a long time, but since the country's economy has deteriorated, they have become more active in their attempts to flee to the European Union.

The fence would be accompanied by modern technology, Kozlovskis said, adding that cooperation with Russia has decreased due to the political situation.

Interior Ministry spokeswoman Daiga Holma told LSM the measures were intended to help prevent border crossings by illegal immigrants and should not be considered to have a military or defensive purpose.