German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone that Belarus's "instrumentalisation of migrants" was inhumane and unacceptable and asked him to press Belarus's government on the matter, her spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The Kremlin earlier blamed the European Union for the migrant crisis on the border between Belarus and Poland, saying it was failing to uphold its own humanitarian values and trying to "strangle" Belarus with plans to close part of the border.
REUTERS