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EU Foreign Affairs Representative Josep Borrell
Photo: ADRIANO MACHADO / REUTERS
The EU foreign affairs representative Josep Borrell telephoned the Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makey on Sunday.
They talked about the conflict on the Polish border.
Thousands of refugees are currently waiting there because the Belarusian regime wants to put the EU under pressure.
On Twitter, Borrell commented on the conversation: "People's lives must be protected, and humanitarian organizations must be given access," he wrote.
“The current situation is unacceptable and must be ended.
People shouldn't be used as weapons. "
Lukashenko flies in refugees - and drives them to the border
The Belarusian state news agency Belta reported that Makej had announced that his country had taken steps against mass migration from Asia, Africa and the Middle East.
Minsk is ready for dialogue.
Angela Merkel had previously spoken to Vladimir Putin about the conflict.
The EU accuses Belarus of targeting people from crisis regions in the Middle East and Africa and leading them to the Polish border.
SPIEGEL research shows that the Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko uses a system for this purpose that now extends to Turkey, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria and Dubai.
Polish government politicians and EU officials speak of a "hybrid attack", soldiers and police officers have sealed off the border.
Thousands have been waiting at the border crossing between Poland and Belarus and other places on the border since Monday.
They have set up tents and are building small wooden sheds for themselves (read a report about the situation at the border fence here).
The situation is becoming more precarious every day.
The area is one of the coldest regions in Poland, and temperatures are already dropping below freezing at night.
Several people have already died.
The Green Party chairwoman Annalena Baerbock called on the Polish government to grant aid organizations access to the border area.
"I appeal to the Polish government to make this possible and to accept the EU's offers of support - also with regard to joint border protection," she wrote on Twitter.
more on the subject
Refugees at the Belarusian-Polish border: "We are becoming more and more hopeless every day" By Christina Hebel and Steffen Lüdke
Dispute over Polish border fence: Europe's iron curtain by Steffen Lüdke, Maximilian Popp and Ralf Neukirch
Previously unknown details about the despot's network: This is how Lukashenko's perfidious people smuggling works
Migration crisis in Belarus: What role does Vladimir Putin play at the border? By Christian Esch
Maas threatens airlines
The Polish government has set up a restricted zone on the border.
Journalists and refugee workers are not allowed to enter.
The right-wing Polish government also refuses to help the European border protection agency Frontex, which was created for precisely such cases.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) threatened airlines on Twitter with the withdrawal of overflight and landing rights if they took part in “Lukashenko's smuggling business”.
Most recently, the Turkish civil aviation authority banned Iraqis, Syrians and Yemenis from traveling from Turkey to Minsk.
The Syrian airline Cham Wings stopped the connection to Minsk.
slü / dpa
