BRUSSELS: European Union ambassadors on Wednesday agreed to broaden sanctions against Belarus to target the regime for sending thousands of migrants to the bloc's border, diplomats said.
The legal move paves the way for foreign ministers from the 27-nation group meeting next Monday to approve a raft of new individuals and companies to add to the blacklist.
EU member state Poland on Wednesday lashed out at Minsk for "state terrorism" as fears grew for more than 2,000 migrants trapped on its border with Belarus.
Brussels accuses the Belarusian authorities of "human trafficking" by luring in thousands of migrants and sending them to try to cross into the EU.
It is seen as a tactic in retaliation for EU sanctions.
Diplomats said the EU is looking to add around 30 individuals and entities, including Belarusian state airline Belavia and travel agencies, to its asset freeze and travel ban blacklist over the crisis.
Experts aim to finalise the list in the coming days, before the foreign ministers meeting in Brussels, diplomats said.
The EU has already slapped sanctions on 166 individuals tied to the Belarusian regime -- including president Alexander Lukashenko and his son -- over a crackdown on opponents since disputed elections last year.
Brussels is now scrambling to stem the flow of migrants to Belarus by reaching out to countries, especially in the Middle East, to convince them to stop people boarding flights to Minsk.
The bloc has mulled targeting airlines from beyond Belarus that fly to the country, but a European diplomat told AFP it was "not clear" if there was the political will to do this.
An EU envoy is to visit a string of nations soon, including the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Iraq and Turkey, to try to pressure them to prevent travel, foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.
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