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EU to discuss sanctions against Belarus on November 15 — European Council president

Charles Michel stressed that Brussels was ready to use different tools, including diplomatic ones, to overcome the migrant crisis on the border with Belarus

WARSAW, November 10./TASS/. The foreign ministers of the European Union will discuss possible new sanctions against Belarus on November 15, President of the European Council Charles Michel told a news conference with Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Wednesday.

"Next Monday there shall be a ministerial meeting at the level of the foreign affairs," to discuss concrete measures against the leadership of Belarus. The EU must also explain the consequences to the countries of origin and transit countries, he stressed. "Our ambassadors in Brussels had a meeting again today about this topic," Charles Michel said.

He stressed that Brussels was ready to use different tools, including diplomatic ones, to overcome the migrant crisis on the border with Belarus. He said that he had come to Poland to express his solidarity, "the solidarity of the whole European Union vis-·-vis Poland."

The president of the European Council left without making any comments at the news conference about an appeal by Warsaw to hold an emergency summit of the heads of state and government of the EU countries to discuss the migrant crisis.

The migrant crisis on the border of Belarus with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland deteriorated dramatically on November 8. Several thousand people approached the Polish border from the Belarusian side and are not leaving the border zone. Some of them have tried to cross into Poland by cutting razor wire fences. The European Union accuses Minsk of intentionally escalating the crisis and urges sanctions. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko blamed the situation on Western countries themselves, since it was their actions that had prompted people to flee the war.

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