EU ambassadors agree Belarus deserved sanctions for "hybrid attack"

The agreement was reached at a closed-door meeting in Brussels among the bloc's 27 envoys, diplomats said. Belarus denies any wrongdoing and says it, not the EU, is a victim of a "hybrid attack" using unconventional warfare tactics. Reuters reported on Tuesday that the EU is close to imposing more sanctions on Belarus, targeting some 30 individuals and entities including the foreign minister and Belarusian airline Belavia, with approval as early as next week. The sanctions package will now be discussed by experts on Thursday with the possibility of approval on Monday when EU foreign ministers hold a scheduled meeting in Brussels. However, agreement on names and evidence needed to prevent legal challenges mean the sanctions could take longer. EU governments must also decide whether to target Belarus' state-owned airline Belavia's existing aircraft leasing contracts or only future deals.

Poland briefed its NATO allies on Wednesday in Brussels on the migrant crisis on its border, which the alliance said was caused by Belarus and was "unacceptable", a NATO official said after the closed-door meeting.

"NATO Allies stand in full solidarity with Poland and other Allies affected by Belarus’ blatant instrumentalisation of migrants," the official added.

"Allies made clear that Belarus bears responsibility for the crisis and that the Lukashenko regime's use of migrants as a hybrid tactic is inhumane, illegal and unacceptable," the official said, referring to President Alexander Lukashenko.

"NATO continues to closely monitor the situation. The Secretary General remains in close touch with Allied governments on the issue. NATO stands ready to further assist our allies, and maintain safety and security in the region," the official said.

The EU needs to make up its mind if it is ready to finance fences to help countries such as Lithuania in protecting the bloc's external borders against a "hybrid attack" by Belarus, European Council President Charles Michel said on Wednesday.

The European Commission said on Wednesday that EU funding could be used to finance border infrastructure but should not be used to put up fences or barbed wire.

Holding a news conference in Warsaw, after meeting with Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki, Michel said he hoped the EU will make a decision on the matter as soon as possible.

"About the physical infrastructure to protect the borders: Based on an opinion of the legal service of the Council, it is legally possible, based on the current legal framework at European level, to finance infrastructure," Michel told reporters.

"This is a decision that needs to be taken by the (European) Commission, but in any case, the legal opinion of the Council is very clear," he added.

The Commission is the EU's executive body, while the Council represents the bloc's member states.

The EU needs to block flights from the Middle East to Belarus, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said, to stem the flow of migrants trying to enter the EU's eastern external border.

"We must talk about the effective blocking of flights from the countries of the Middle East to Belarus because we know that this is only an instrument of political blackmail. And we need to start diplomatic actions from the European Union, from Brussels, in the capitals of the countries of the Middle East," Poland's prime minister said.

"We are talking about implementing additional sanctions, for example on airlines, including Belarusian (airlines), but not only this. We are more and more determined to implement economic sanctions, we will be talking about them at the European Council meeting," he added.

Thousands of migrants trapped in Belarus have converged on the border with Poland, where razor wire fences and Polish troops have repeatedly blocked their entry.