. Russia’s Aeroflot will not be included in the new mechanism of sanctions against airlines and travel agencies carrying migrants to Belarus currently being developed by the European Union, a diplomatic source in Brussels told TASS prior to the meeting of the EU Council at the level of top diplomats that is expected to see the approval of the mechanism.

"The EU is not considering putting Aeroflot on the black list of airlines now," he said. "The grounds for putting airlines on the list should be legally consistent to reduce the risks of challenging sanctions before the court. So far there is no evidence that the Russian airline is intentionally involved in carrying migrants to Minsk. However, the situation may change, for example, in case of the introduction of charter flights or a sale of one-way tickets to Belarus, for example, from Turkey or North African countries. Then the question of including this carrier may be put on the agenda," the diplomat explained.

"Today the decision on creating a mechanism of restrictive measures against airlines intentionally involved in carrying migrants will be made, though no sanctions will be imposed against carriers that will independently abandon this activity," he added.

Earlier, Aeroflot denied all allegations of its involvement in the situation on the Belarusian-Polish border, noting that it does not operate flights to cities in Iraq or Syria. The citizens of those countries did not take Aeroflot flights to Belarus via third countries, the company added.