Belarusian Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei and European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell discussed the migrant crisis on the Polish border over the phone on Sunday.

Thousands of migrants have traveled to Belarus in the hope of crossing into the EU, only to find themselves trapped on the border in freezing conditions.

The talks between Belarus and the EU came a day before the EU plans to impose new sanctions on Minsk to include airlines and travel agencies thought to be involved in bringing migrants to the bloc's border.

"Futility of sanctions was highlighted... by the Belarusian side," the Belarusian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Makei informed Borrell about steps taken by Belarus to reduce the migrant flow and providing them with humanitarian aid on the border, the ministry said.

Borrell wrote on Twitter that he had raised "the precarious humanitarian situation at the border with the EU."

"Peoples' lives must be protected and humanitarian agencies allowed access," he wrote. "The current situation is unacceptable and must stop. People should not be used as weapons."

Europe accuses Belarus of mounting "a hybrid attack" by flying in migrants and pushing them to cross illegally into Poland. Belarus has repeatedly denied the accusation.

Read more: 

Polish police detain 'over 50' migrants near border with Belarus

Putin, Merkel continue to discuss EU-Belarus migrant crisis

(With input from Reuters)

(Cover: Migrants sit by the fire in a tent camp on the Belarus-Poland border, Grodno Region, Belarus, November 14, 2021. /CFP)