Turkey bans citizens from Syria, Yemen and Iraq from flying to Minsk

Move comes amid standoff between Belarus and EU over arrival of thousands of people at Polish border

Turkey has blocked citizens of Syria, Yemen and Iraq from buying flight tickets to Belarus, as the EU puts pressure on foreign governments over their role in the arrival of thousands of people from the Middle East at its eastern border.

Belavia, the Belarusian state airline, said it would no longer carry citizens of those countries to Belarus, days before a planned announcement of new sanctions from the EU that could target airlines. Turkish Airlines, which is 49% state-owned, has also pledged to limit migrant flights to Belarus, European officials said on Friday.