Putin Brushes Off Merkel Appeal on Belarus; EU Readies Sanctions

EU, US, UK eyeing joint penalties over Belarus actions
Poland’s Morawiecki seeks EU summit in meeting with Michel

Migrants gather near razor wire on the Belarus-Poland border near Grodno, on Nov. 9.Photographer: Leonid Shcheglov/BelTA/AP Photo

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By Aliaksandr Kudrytski, John Follain, and Patrick Donahue

November 10, 2021 at 8:00 AM UTC

Updated on

November 10, 2021 at 4:46 PM UTC

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President Vladimir Putin brushed off a request by Chancellor Angela Merkel to exercise his influence over Belarus as the European Union prepares a fresh raft of sanctions against the regime in Minsk for channeling thousands of migrants to the bloc’s border.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, after meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, said Wednesday that the EU and the U.S. are preparing to penalize the regime for orchestrating a “hybrid attack” on the bloc.