Belarusian state-owned airline Belavia said it would no longer allow citizens of Syria, Iraq, Yemen, and Afghanistan to board flights between Dubai and Minsk.

"According to the decision of the competent authorities of UAE please note that starting from 14.11.2021 citizens of Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Syria will not be accepted for boarding on flights from Dubai to Minsk. In this regard, Belavia is strengthening documents verification during check-in for flights from Dubai. Passengers subject to this ban can refund their tickets at the place of purchase," Belavia said in a statement.

The EU accused Belarus of encouraging refugees to enter the EU

In the same context, Turkey has lately banned citizens of Syria, Iraq, and Yemen from flying from Turkish airports to Belarus.

The announcement followed an urgent round of diplomatic contacts between Polish, Turkish, and European officials aimed at stemming the flow of people trying to illegally cross the EU's eastern frontier.

The EU accused Belarus of encouraging thousands of people fleeing war-torn parts of the world to try to cross its borders and has threatened to impose new sanctions on Minsk and airlines that transport migrants.

A European official revealed that the EU had agreed with Turkey that the latter would monitor flights to Belarus.

Bloomberg news agency quoted the source, on the condition of anonymity, as saying that Turkish Airlines agreed to restrict the sale of tickets from Istanbul to the Belarus capital for citizens involved in the migrant flows, especially Iraq, Syria, and Yemen.