Russian President Vladimir Putin told the European Union it needs to start talks with Belarus if it hopes to resolve a crisis over hundreds of migrants trapped on the border with Poland.
Poland is refusing to allow the migrants to cross, accusing Minsk of luring them to Belarus to send across the border in revenge for sanctions.
The EU has so far refused any direct contact with Belarus’s strongman leader Alexander Lukashenko, who warned that any new sanctions would be met with a response, including potentially cutting off natural gas transit to Europe.
Merkel had called Putin to ask him to use his influence on Lukashenko to end the crisis.